


OC Oneshots

by Bleebtheweeb



Category: N/A - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 20:12:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 58,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15493767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bleebtheweeb/pseuds/Bleebtheweeb
Summary: My brain: theyreoutofcharactertheyreoutofcharactertheyreoutofcharacter-My heart: l e t t h e m b e h a p p y a n d p u r e





	1. Alistar and Laurel

The yelling seemed to start soon as he opened the doors and he rubbed his temples with a frown. He really didn’t want to do this today. With a sigh he glanced down at his wife’s scowling face and grimaced, “Laurel, please. Could we do this some other time?”

She spat at him immediately with that barbed tongue he used to adore so much, questioning venom laced through her voice she asked, “Oh? So then when are we going to do this then?” 

He practically growled with annoyance and shook his head, “Not now, that’s when.” Alistar started to walk away, ready to flop onto a bed and die, when Laurel grabbed his arm.

“You always do this! Come here and talk to me instead of running!”

He tore her hand from his arm and whirled around to face her. “I’m not running Laurel I’m fucking tired and I want to sleep! Is that such a goddamn offense to you that you have to screech at me every time I come home?!” 

“Fuck you! You know perfectly well that’s not what I’m pissed off about!”

Narrowing his eyes he took a step closer and glared. “Oh? Then what are you pissed about? Goddamn politics that we agreed we wouldn’t affect us?”

“This isn’t politics Alistar! This is peoples lives that your selling and buying away!” Laurel matched his challenge and glared right back at him, staring dead into his eyes. 

“Seriously?! That’s what’s pissing you off?!” He shook his head and grabbed the bridge of his nose, “You know I have to do what I have to in order to get into a position of power so I can change things like slaves! Even if it means buying a couple and killing one or two off! It’s for the goddamn greater good Laurel!”

“You don’t have to do this to get into a position of power Alistar! We don’t need the support of that slave selling man-whore!” 

Alistar raised his eyebrows and shrugged, “I beg to differ. He’s a major power player and has the favor of the king himself Laurel, you know this is necessary.”

“Oh yeah and I’m sure the people who burned your parents thought it was necessary!” 

“How dare you.” He clenched his fists and stopped him from snapping at Laurel. His blood boiling, he turned away from Laurel and started walking away. “I’m going to bed now. Don’t wake me up.” 

“Oh no you fucking don’t, your not running now, I’m not done!” She reached out to grab his arm again but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her within an inch of his face. Repeating himself, he said in a deathly calm, “I’m going to bed. Don’t wake me up.” 

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, the tension thick enough you could cut it with a dull blade, till Laurel tugged her hand away and rubbed her wrist. “Fine. Run then. This isn’t over though Alistar, so don’t expect me to stop.”

Shaking his head, he headed to bed.


	2. A continuation of the previous thing

She huffed and watched Alistar walk away to their room with narrowed eyes. He was a coward, and they needed to talk about these things or else everything would go to shit. Although, Laurel was guilty about the comment on his parents. It’s just something always bothered her. Whenever she thought about what he had told her, she grew frustrated, as if there were pieces that were missing that she couldn’t see. 

With a shake of her head she turned and walked towards her favorite part of their house, wanting to get her mind off of things. She headed towards the garden and passed the library but paused. This was Alistar’s favorite room. It reminded her of what he was like when she first met him, a brilliant man who no longer wanted to be anybody’s puppet. Nowadays it seemed as if he would willingly become someone’s puppet if it benefited him. It seemed as if he was willing to do anything and it was a little understandable, as they had been stuck in the same position for what seemed like forever. 

She knew her husband was being desperate and that he’d quell once they had made progress towards their goal, but nonetheless it worried her. Sometimes it seemed like he was loosing himself and became more like the man he said he pretended to be. Running her hands through the books, Laurel wondered if she could find her favorite book here. It was a simple children’s picture book her mother read to her when she was small, and it was likely not here amongst all the large novels. Much to her surprise though, she found it tucked into a corner of the bookshelf. Laurel grinned and tugged it out, quickly flipping through when a small slip of parchment fell out. 

Bending down, she grabbed the piece with confusion painted on her face. The parchment had Alistar’s practical chicken scratch handwriting on it, the messy scribbles saying ‘Pull the third book on the top left bookshelf and then tap the side to see who I really am, ‘ the last few words were scribbled out and below was written, ‘this is dumb, she’s going to hate me if she finds out.’ Her confusion only increased and she glanced over the note once more. The note was obviously something she hadn’t been intended to see, and it would probably benefit her to put it back. However, she was in too deep and too curious to do so. 

Gripping the paper, she followed the instructions and gasped when she heard a small click. Turned out that the southernmost bookshelf swung out to reveal a ladder going down into a basement she had no idea they had. So, she did what any logical woman would do and gathered her skirts, along with her courage, and ventured downwards. 

When Laurel reached the bottom, she didn’t quite know what she was looking at, at first. A large room with dim lights and shelves that held glowing potions of all color and voluminosity covered the walls. A large cauldron sat next to a desk with scribbled pages scattered across it and a pin board adjacent. She studied the papers, only really understanding bits and pieces. But what really caught her eye was a paper in the corner of the cork board with a haunting symbole scribbled on it. Laurel recognized it as a variation of the symbol some of the cultists used and her heart dropped as she connected the dots.

Suddenly, Alistar’s parents being burned made much more sense then she could have ever wanted it to.


	3. Wowee another Alistar and Laurel

“Laurel.”

Her eyes flicked up and narrowed as she recognized Alistar through the bars of her cell. She scoffed, why was he here? To apologize? To make excuses? It’s not like it mattered, she would be dead within the hour, now wouldn’t she. 

“I..”

He froze. What was he even supposed to say in this situation? Was he supposed to explain his actions? Tell her sorry? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything anymore. 

“I’m sorry.”

She rolled her eyes and looked back down at the chains that binded her to the walls of the foul smelling prison, studying them. They were corroded a bit and scratched up from all the people that came here before her. After a moments silence she looked back up at Alistar, finally getting a good look at him. His normally sleek soft hair looked greasy and unkept, and the rings under his eyes along with their puffiness spoke volumes. He looked broken, like a piece of him was missing. Words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think to stop herself. 

“I’m sorry too.”

He smiled sadly, at least she had said something back. That was honestly more then he was expecting, more then he deserved. It was almost jarring to see his wife in anything other then the expensive colorful dresses that she loved. Now she was reduced to rags and huddled in the corner of the cell, likely trying to stay relatively warm. A pang of guilt shot through him and he resisted the tears that pricked at the corner of his eyes.

“I never meant for it to turn out like this Laurel....this is just...just what I have to do.”

She narrowed her eyes, her blood boiling. How dare he tell her that! This wasn’t what he had to do! He could’ve done so many things, given up his witchcraft, tried to talk to her even the slightest bit more, but no. He framed her, and now she was going to burn. He should’ve just killed her himself, at least then she would’t’ve had to suffer through this dank and miserable prison cell.

“Bullshit.” She hissed, venom laced through her voice, “You didn’t have to do this.” 

He shook his head, why didn’t she understand that he did have to do this? No amount of words, no amount of love, could change the fact she hated what he was. Alistar knew Laurel probably knew that deep down, or else she wouldn’t have pulled that knife on him that night. She was prepared to kill him, and he was prepared to do the same. Though, it didn’t mean he didn’t hate himself for doing it.

“Well then what should I have done? Let you kill me? Let you turn me in?”

Tears she had been holding back spilled down her face. She didn’t know. What should he have done? As if talking to her would’ve made any real difference. The moment she saw the potions and the cult symbol she was gone. She regretted betraying him, but it was the right thing to do. Even if he wasn’t a witch her husband wasn’t a good man and she knew it. Laurel sobbed, not bothering to wipe away her tears. 

“I don’t know Ali...not..not this.”

Laurel sounded so broken, so sad, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Hell, he was the reason she sounded that way. He wanted to reach through the bars, tell her everything was okay, that he could get her out, that they could go back to the way they were before. No matter what though, they couldn’t. They had each dug their hole and now they had to lie in it. The sound of heavy metal footsteps filled the hall, and the muffled sound of voices. Alistar cursed, he wasn’t technically supposed to be down here. He had to leave. With one last glance at his wife he said quietly,

“I still love you, you know. Despite everything.”

He ran the other direction after he said those words, quickly disappearing for Laurels view. Quickly though, before he was out of earshot she murmured quietly, praying he could hear what she said.

“I love you too.”


	4. Morgan and Sil

Morgan sat in his bed, hiccuping silently as tears poured down his face. He had just woken up from a horrible nightmare, and was trying to calm himself down. It was hard though, since dreams like that tended to bring everything he’d managed to make peace with and forget about back to stage center in his mind. The nightmares were always so detailed. He could see the horror painted on Sylvia’s face, the dried blood splattered across what was left of her. Morgan could only imagine what had happened in the moments before her death, and he could only pray his assumptions were wrong. The idea of his precious little girl having to go though something made him sick to this day.

Speaking of which, he needed a bucket. Scrambling to the other side of his room with wobbly legs he managed to get over to a flowerpot in the corner and throw up in that. After Morgan felt a bit better he sat up and wiped his mouth. Really, he should go back to sleep but the thought scared him. He didn’t want another nightmare, especially about topics that might result in him waking up screaming. His mouth felt uncomfortable.

Deciding it would be better to crawl back in bed then crouch down by a vomit covered flowerpot, he got up and headed to his bed. Once he sat he noticed his hands were shaking and tears welled back up in his eyes. Anger surged through him. He was perfectly fine! All of that happened forever ago, he didn’t blame himself for it, and he didn’t want revenge anymore so why did he feel this way? Why did he feel so sad, so weak, so-

His door creaked open and his stomach dropped as he dove back under the covers, not wanting anyone to see him like this. “M-Morgan?” A quiet voice called out from his door, “you asleep? I um... I need someone to talk to...” Morgan cursed internally as he recognized the voice. It was Sil, and he couldn’t just let Sil down like that. He recognized the fact that he was Sil’s anchor at times and that he needed to be strong. But right now....right now he wasn’t strong. That didn’t stop him from wiping his tears, taking a breath, and sitting up with a gesture for Sil to come towards him. The smaller man quickly walked towards him and hopped in the bed. Morgan wrapped his arms around Sil for a moment, before asking what was wrong.

“I..I don’t know it’s pretty dumb I just..” Sil frowned and cuddled into his chest. “I saw something and it reminded me of him and I didn’t want to be alone cause I didn’t want to be able to...” Sil trailed off and Morgan nodded, trying desperately to conceal his shaking. With a small gesture he told Sil that it was alright, and he could stay however long he needed. In truth though, he hoped Sil left soon as possible. The other man didn’t need to see Morgan like this, especially since he was supposed to be the one comforting Sil.

The white haired man looked up at him, looking a little concerned. “Is something wrong? You’re shaking?” Morgan mustered up the best smile he could manage, which wasn’t very good, and signed that he was just a bit cold. He could tell from Sil’s face that he didn’t believe it for one second. “Your face is red and ,while I can’t see much of them, your eyes look puffy. Were...were you crying?” 

He didn’t want to say yes, didn’t want to admit that. After all, he was failing by even letting Sil notice. Sadly, he wasn’t able to protest much as tears filled up his eyes once again. Guilt and shame swirled through his as he noticed Sil’s upset face, he was supposed to make him feel better, not worse. Morgan desperately tried to sign that he was sorry but his hands were so shaky that it barely got though to Sil.

“No! No don’t say that Morgan!” Sil cupped his cheek, brushing away some of his tears. He was obviously unsure of his actions, but Morgan appreciated the gesture nonetheless. “You’re allowed to be sad... you- you don’t have to be here for me all the time. You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” 

Morgan nodded and started to sign out that he had a nightmare to no avail, his hands were shaking too much and Sil couldn’t get any of it. He tried desperately over and over again, only working himself up more each time. Why couldn’t he do this one simple thing? Why was he so goddamn useless right now? His breathing grew shallow as he was barely able to catch his breaths in between his sobs. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t sign, he couldn’t comfort Sil, and it all just built up as he tried and tried and tried desperately to tell Sil what he felt. But it only made it worse, only made his chest feel tighter, and just when he was about to give up, just when it was all about to spill over, arms wrapped around him.

He froze in place, startled. Sil looked up at him, concern and sadness painted in his eyes. “Hey...” He said softly, rubbing Morgans back, “it’s alright.” With that he finally gave into Sil helping him, letting the other man cradle him as best he could and whisper reassurances to him. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, wrapped n eachothers arms. Till eventually, Morgan drifted off into a peaceful hazy sleep.


	5. The bing bang bazonga burger incident but it’s cake instead hahaha xddd r aw r

Morgan stretched out his arms with a yawn and glanced around the kitchen. He had made a mess of the place, pots and pans strewn about the place and flour dusting nearly every surface in the kitchen. However it was worth it as the cake he made was going to to come out wonderfully and perfect for the special occasion. He hoped the others were doing their parts properly too though, they had to make this surprise perfect for Bennie.

Goopy was to distract Bennie in the market all day while Morgan made a birthday cake, Sil put up all the decorations, and Latin made sure the ship was running perfectly so they’d have no accidents while busy suprising Bennie. You see, Bennie was in a similar situation as Morgan was and didn’t really know his exact birthday, or his exact age. However that didn’t mean the crew wasn’t going to give Bennie an exact birthdate, accurate or not. 

So they decided that today, September 14th, was Bennie’s new birthday. Everything had to be absolutely perfect for the suprise so while the cake was cooking he went around to check on everybody else. Sil was doing alright, and just setting the table they ate at with forks and knifes. Morgan helped him for a moment and then left to go see how Latin was doing. Latin was just checking up on their engine it seemed, and while they didn’t need help with anything they did enjoy the company for a bit. Satisfied with how things were going Morgan went back over to take his cake out of the oven and decorate it. 

After an hour or two he was done with his cake and stepped back from it with a grin. It looked absolutely amazing, and he just knew Bennie would love it. Quickly he decided to check on everyone else as Goopy would be back with Bennie soon. Sil had finished all the decorations wonderfully, and Latin said everything on the ship should work perfectly. Glad the others were done, they helped him clean up the kitchen and wash all the dishes he had used. Then, Goopy and Bennie were back. 

They walked into the ship and Goopy excitedly led Bennie to the dining room. Once the two were inside, Morgan, Latin, and Sil all jumped out from hiding spots, beaming and yelling surprise. They had all worked hard for this, and the utter shock and joy on Bennie last face once he realized what was going on made it all worth it. He pulled all of them into a hug as he laughed and grinned, thanking them again and again. 

Then, they all sat down, feasting on the meal Morgan had made. It was simple, just some of the stuff he knew was Bennie’s favorite foods and a couple other sides that he knew the others liked too. After dinner though was the moment of truth for Morgan, it was then he’d bring out the cake he had put so much work into. The meal he had made passed in a flash, the others complimenting his cooking as always. Goopy cleared the table, although he did do it begrudgingly, and then it was the moment of truth.

Morgan brought out the cake, and at first there wasn’t much of a reaction. Which was of course all part of his plan. The outside of the cake was decorated rather plainly after all, with a white base and blue trimming. However once he cut into the cake and placed a slice on Bennie’s cake the reaction came. At first it was a surprised chuckle, and then fill out breathy laughter. Morgan joined in with the laughter in relief, glad that Bennie found it as funny as he had when he first came up with the idea.

Soon the whole crew joined in with the laughter, each grabbing a slice. They ate happily and then it was time for presents. Goopy smiled widely and skittered over to Bennie excitedly, holding a small box. Bennie opened it up and grinned, giving his son a hug. The present was one of Goopys favorite shiny’s, a glittering gold button with elaborate engravings. The slime had noticed a missing button on his fathers jacket, and so gave him a new pretty one. Then, much to Bennies confusion, they sent Goopy off to bed for the night.

“Hey guys what- what’s goin on Goopy’s bedtime isn’t until nine-“ Bennie froze as he noticed the expression on his crew mates faces, and he let out a small choked, “oh.” 

Latin smirked, the first of the group to speak up. “Well Bennie, y’see it’s time for us to give you our birthday presents.” They glanced over to Sil, who was enjoying this as much as they were. “And y’see we decided to all give you a biiiig group birthday present.” They paused, looking at Bennie’s somewhat mortified scarlet face. “You do want our birthday present, right?” Latin purred and Bennie nodded nervously.

( omg!!!! So spicy!!! so like lol this is where the lemon starts xd. 18+ you weeb sinners heehee!! Have fun ^w^)

Morgan dragged Bennie over to there kinky sexy dungeons and Bennie turned super duper red and his peepee was already hard as a rock. The other two followed close behind, groping and feeling Bennies sweet blueberry bunz.

Once they were inside Morgan immediately ripped off all of Bennie’s clothes like the big buff boy he is.

(Squeee!! Morgan is such a sinful big boy I want him to squish me!!)

Sil quickly attacked Bennie’s cock, swallowing it down into his sweet mouth pussy. Latin decided to take care of Bennie’s neck, licking and biting small marks into the younger mans succulent skin. Meanwhile, Morgan took Bennie’s mouth and shoved his phat juicy duck dick into it, gripping Bennie’s head. He moaned as Bennie bobbed his head back and forth, mouth fucking Morgan with expert skill. 

Bennie panted as Morgan pulled out of his mouth and pushed into his ass with a screech. Attacked from all sides he fell into a glassy fog of ecstasy. Quickly all the pleasure built up and he squirted his cock juice all into Sil’s mouth pussy. (O M G HAWT!!). The older man grinned as he swallowed and took in all of Bennie’s semen, licking stray splatters from his face. The other two pulled off and out of Bennie. The blue eyed man looked up at them, sitting up, obviously thinking they were done. 

However, they were far from finished as Morgan grabbed the super smexy ribbion to tie around Bennie’s hands. (BDSM Bennie is so sinful I can’t I litraly had to pray after writing this it’s so bad xddd) Bennie shuddered and it went straight to his old gross man peepee which shot straight up. Morgan tied his hands up to the bed post leaving Bennie sitting doggy style. Sil crawled over to where the tan man sat and they nodded, knowing exactly what they were going to do. 

Meanwhile Latin positioned themselves underneath Bennie. On the signal all of them thrust into their captain who practically shreeked his vv girly scream in pleaser and pain. Morgan and Sil double teamed Bennie in the back while Latin schlorped up Bennie’s schlong with her dripping pusspuss. Their captain could barely take it for more then ten minutes and splooged inside Latin’s girl cave. Soon after Sil and Buffy the vampire slayer came all over Bennie’s tender asshole and blueberry buns. 

“Boy” Bennie Bonzo Bingo Bango Blango said, “that wazz a doosey of a birthday present.”


	6. Morgan’s Execution Drabble

Morgan took in a deep breath and stared down at the floor. He was studying it to distract himself from what was about to happen. It was covered in filth and cracks spiderwebbed across the cold concrete. He could see the pointed black boots of his guards in his peripheral, contrasted greatly with his bloodied and bruised bare feet. He looked up, sucking in a deep breath to quell the panic swirling inside the pit of his stomach. Looking around, the large man tried to find something else to distract himself from his impending doom. However, there was nothing to focus on and he fought back tears as his mind reminded him of all the things he’d never see again.

He’d never see Sil again, not those beautiful rare smiles or get to comfort him in those late nights when Sil couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. He’d never get to read with Goopy again, never laugh when they both didn’t know a word in a book, never get see how happy Goopy is when he makes butterscotch cupcakes. Latin would never smack his ass jokingly and laugh at how tall he is compared to them. He’d never get to hear them ramble on to him as they work or sing whatever tune they had stuck in their head. Never again would he hear Bennie’s breathy laughter, see his crimson face pinned against a wall, or carry him to bed when Bennie passed out in some random place. 

Strangely enough, he smiled sadly and no longer felt the need to cry. Morgan felt at peace, of all things. Thinking about all the things he’d never see again reminded him of everything he had done, everything he had seen and been able to experience. Sure, he may never see those things again but at the very least he had seen them. Knowing that filled him with a serene calm. Morgan had a family, people who loved him unconditionally and people he loved unconditionally. He had made a difference, changed the world for the better. He had made mistakes and felt pain too. He lived his life, and he lived it to its fullest. That’s what truly mattered in the end. 

So when the doors in front of him opened, and he walked out, he walked with his head high and his face calm. Morgan didn’t scream, didn’t cry, didn’t do anything. He just walked to his fate. When they put the noose around his neck he was unphased, when they read out his crimes he didn’t tense in anticipation.

No, instead what broke that glassy silence was seeing his family out in the crowd, their terrified faces staring back at him. Tears slid down his face as he met eyes with Sil, and the sudden realization that nothing would ever be the same for them dawned on him. That Sil wouldn’t have his anchor, Latin wouldn’t have their friend, Goopy wouldn’t have his uncle, and Bennie wouldn’t have his crewmate. Panic flooded through his body, they didn’t need to see this happen to him. They didn’t need to see him die. His body tensed, about to tug against the rope he was held in. It was too late. He moved too late. 

Morgan dropped, and it all went black.


	7. Gabe Forgetting Drabble

He screamed as two guards grabbed his arms, dragging him away from the shards of broken mirror. Kicking and struggling he tried desperately to get out of their grasp. Angry tears streaked down his face as his voice grew hoarse from his screeching. Eventually they dragged him over to Alistar and sat him down at a chair across from his boss.

“Gabe,” Alistar said, fake concern and sarcasm dripping from the older mans voice, “Again? Do I have do punish you?” Gabe gripped the armrests of the chair where he sat and looked down, shaking his head. “No sir.” he whispered, studying the blood on his pants. He was bleeding? Gabe hadn’t even noticed in the rush of things, hopefully Alistar wouldn’t notice either and he’d bleed out. The thought made him smile a small bit.

Alistar snickered and guided Gabe’s chin up with a finger so the younger man met his gaze. “That grin tells me otherwise~” The raven trilled, letting Gabe’s chin go and swirling around in his chair. Alistar gestured for the guards to take Gabe away and he lunged across the table in anger. The two guards quickly pulled him back by the arms and then they were back to square one with him struggling against them. They strapped him into a straitjacket with practiced skill, threw him into a small room with just a mattress on the floor, and left him there. Alone in the darkness.

He stood up and walked over the mattress. Flopping down on the grungy bed, Gabe wallowed in sadness. He just wanted it all to end so he wouldn’t have to see that grotesque monsters face again. So he wouldn’t ever have to think about what he did to-

His thoughts trailed off as he stumbled in confusion, desperately trying to figure out why there was a gap in his memory. He knew something should be there, a name, a person, but instead there was seemingly nothing. Then it came to him, foggy but still there. Bennie. What he did to Bennie.

 

What did he do to Bennie?

 

Fear and shock raked across across his body and the world felt wrong. He kept repeating that phrase in his head over and over, ‘What did he do to Bennie?’ He should remember, Bennie was his childhood friend, the one who hooked up with the noble and ran. He gave Bennie a scar, though he couldn’t remember where the scar was, maybe it was on his arm? That made no sense however, Bennie never had a scar on his arm. His brain screamed at itself contradictory thoughts and he struggled to breath. Why couldn’t he remember? What couldn’t he remember? Tears welled back up in his already sore eyes, and he desperately fought at his bonds. Thoughts and confusion bombarded him. The same question was screamed louder and louder in his mind-

 

_What did he do to Bennie?_

 

Suddenly it dawned on him and he wished he had a vomit bucket. He had _tortured_ Bennie. He had ripped everything away from Bennie, his childhood friend, someone he used to trust with his life. Even worse, the execution.

 

_Oh god, the execution._

 

Memories flooded through his brain as he remembered the event in vivid detail. Bennie had been screaming, screeching till he couldn’t anymore. They murdered his son. A tiny little slime that didn’t look like it was older then ten. It had begged for Bennie to save them, to do anything as pieces of his body melted off, like skin being stripped from a human.

All of that was his fault. He did that to Bennie, to his friend. Gabe forgot about that? He _forgot_ about something like _that?_ What kind of horrible person forgets about that? Who forgets the name of their best friend?

Former best friend, his mind echoed. He laughed, and it sounded like a sick and twisted sound of suffering. Feeling the warmth of the tears dribbling down his face he shook his head. Bennie was dead after all. Gabe had killed him.

 

His mind blanked again.

_Who was Bennie?_

 

He repeated this cycle over and over, of forgetting and remembering, over and over, tearing himself apart over what he had done. Until eventually, he had screamed and sobbed his way into the dark abyss of sleep.


	8. Lola’s Death

He was bent over a feathered corpse, tears dripping from his eyes. Alistar always knew Lola would leave him sooner or later but he had always imagined it would be later rather then sooner, and now here she was. Dead in his arms. At least he got to mourn over this ones corpse instead of watching it be chucked in a hole and never seen again. 

Hiccuping, he stroked her head and curled into himself more. She was all he had. It was obvious Gabe didn’t want to be around anymore, and Finn had left, betrayed him. Lola reminded him of Laurel in all the good ways. How she tilted her head when he spoke, how she’d curl up and lay on his shoulder whenever it was quiet and he was reading. It hadn’t been like that lately though. Lola had stayed away from him, pecked and clawed whenever he tried to pick her up, and was reluctant to even leave her cage. He wondered if she’d passed hating him. 

His small tears turned into full out sobs at that, the fact he wasn’t even able to not repeat his past mistakes, that no matter what he did Laurel would always end up hating him. 

Alistar heard footsteps approaching and in a panic he tried to stand, only to hit his head on a shelf and collapse back down. Luckily he calmed down once he realized it was Gabe. He still didn’t really want Gabe to see him like this, but out of everybody in his house he minded Gabe the least. 

“Sir-?” He asked, looking down on the distraught man, “What’s wrong-“ Alistar interrupted him quickly, whist making sure nothing happened to the bird in his hands when he fell, “She’s dead.” Gabe’s eyebrows shot up in curiosity and confusion. 

“Wh-“

“Lola. Lola is dead.” He answered, showing the dead crow to Gabe. His guard sunk down next to him and sat, leaning against the wall.

“How’d it happen?” 

Alistar quickly wiped away his tears and collected himself a bit. “I don’t know, I was just checking her cage to feed her and she was- she was on the floor breathing weakly. I picked her up, tried everything I could think of, but she just stopped breathing. Right there in my hands.” It seemed wiping off his face did nothing as in the moments he said that his face was wet once again. He struggled to keep talking, sobs racking his body again, eventually he stopped trying and gave in. He honestly expected Gabe to leave after that, but instead the younger man stayed there next to him, not really comforting him but not leaving him alone. 

Once he had calmed down enough to get a sentence out again, he said, “I suppose I have to bury her now.” He trailed off, frowning a bit. Burying Lola would make it final, that she was really dead and it wasn’t some sick dream. He stood, this time not hitting his head, and held out a hand to help Gabe up. 

“Thank you for not leaving.” Alistar said curtly, somewhat embarrassed he had broken down in front of Gabe, “Do you think you could help me bury her?” Gabe raised an eyebrow, suspicious. “You’re actually going to trust me with a shovel?” Alistar frowned, somewhat nervous at that comment. “Please don’t try and kill yourself while burying my crow-“ Gabe shook his head, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t.” 

He nodded, and headed outside to Laurel’s old garden, he knew exactly where he wanted to bury her. Alistar weaved around rows of flowers and trees, till he got to where he wanted to be. It was a large bed of lilies that Laurel had slaved over, since where they live wasn’t the best place to grow them. There was a small patch of empty space in the middle he thought was perfect. Gabe showed up quickly with a shovel and dug a hole about two feet deep. Alistar placed Lola’s small corpse in the hole, and took a deep breath as Gabe covered up her body with dirt.


	9. Alistar torturing Bennie

The prisoner was utterly, completely, entirely uncooperative and Alistar loved it. Bennie, aka The Blueberry Bandit, had eluded him for years, even escaping custody once. But not this time. This time Alistar had the man under lock and key, the only people who even knew he had been captured were Gabe and Finn. 

However, Bennie refused to talk no matter what he did! It was frustrating in the most pleasurable way, and Alistar grinned at their game of cat and mouse. So far he had taken a large chunk out the mans ear, whipped him, and starved him a bit. All to no avail. The man hadn’t whispered so much of a peep. 

Alistar thought for a moment, leaning against a wall as the prisoner glared at him suspiciously. He wasn’t getting anywhere asking questions about the location of his crew, particularly questions about the slime they had captured (although Bennie didn’t know they had captured it). Maybe he would have more success with a question about his past? With a quick trip to his table of supplies he had what he needed to ask his questions. What he had grabbed was a a spoon-like tool with jagged edges to help scoop out an eye. 

He held it against the mans cheek, threatening to dig into his skull and gouge the eye out. His blue eyes stared down at the tool in terror and he tried to squirm out of his bonds. Alistar grinned, putting slight pressure underneath his eye, “Let’s try an easier question now shall we Bennie? The noble they say you killed, Denise Messa, how’d you do it? What circumstances was it under?” 

Bennie froze and frowned, as if pondering something for a moment. “She- we were um we were lovers and- um” The prisoners eye twitched from the pressure and his face contorted in sadness as he apparently recalled the events that led to the noblewoman’s death. “We were engaged and she didn’t want to- want to live where she was-“ He cut himself off again, seemingly unable to form the entire thought. 

“Well?” Alistar asked, growing tired of Bennie’s bumbling stuttering. However, the prisoner was silent and tense in anticipation of his eye being taken out. Alistar groaned in annoyance and set the tool down with a slam. “It seems I’m just going to have to use the potions on you.” Bennie’s face contorted in confusion and fear but he was still silent, his terrified expression staring back at Alistar.

The next day Alistar delivered on that promise and slipped a truth serum in the prisoners food that would force him to answer any question asked truthfully. When he stepped inside the cell, Bennie’s defiant gaze stared at him and he grinned. If only the poor man knew. Alistar started with something simple to make sure the potion was working.

“So, how was your day?” 

“It was fucking horrible thank you very much, these bonds are two damn tight and I’m starving.” 

Alistar grinned as confusion spread across Bennie’s face and the man struggled against his chains. “What the fuck did you do to me?! What the fuck?!” He screamed as Alistar snickered. “Now, now, I’m the one asking questions. Where is your crew?”

“I don’t really know, we rotate spots regularly.” The expression of pure terror and realization that flashed across his prisoners face gave him pure joy as he started shaking his head and tugging against his bonds even more.

“The cultist. What do you know about him?” Bennie struggled to keep his mouth shut for a moment, but lost the battle, saying, “His name is Sil, hes hesitantly part of the cult so he can use them to gather information but he really honestly hates them. He’s also possessed by something- though I don’t know what -and I know the cult worships whatever he’s possessed by.” 

This made Alistar’s stomach drop and made him giddy at the same time. What a devastating blow he could deal to those horrendous cultists if he managed to kill this boy. However, if he was indeed possessed, killing him would be a rather difficult thing to do. “Thank you~” he purred, “You gave me everything I could’ve hoped to know.” And with that he left the room, taking one last glance at his prisoners horrified and guilty face.


	10. Stowaway

The ship was a small transport, probably used to bring supplies from camp to camp. So, when he snuck aboard it to make a quick getaway from his latest endeavor he never imagined he’d end up tied to a chair with a midget and some pirate questioning him. Of course, life never did end up the way Morgan wanted it to, now did it.

 

They had discovered him in their storage room, huddled among empty boxes with his back to the wall. Of course, the pirate tried to fight him to no avail. A quick punch to the jaw and ribs made him double over, groaning in pain. What he didn’t expect was the blast of fire and gunpower hurled at him, searing his side and back. After that it was hard to fight through the pain and the two quickly pinned him down. Now he was tied to the chair, listening to his captors bicker in another room.

 

“Well what do you think we should do with the stowaway since you dislike my plan so much.”

 

“Kill him.”

 

“Latin! We can’t just kill the man we have no idea why he’s here or who he is! This could all be a big misunderstanding!”

 

“You asked for my opinion Bennie, and that’s my opinion. He’s told us absolutely nothing! He refuses to say a word and if that’s not suspicious then I don’t know what is!”

 

“You are right there... Alright, we can question him again and if he still doesn’t say anything then we’ll choose a more aggressive approach I guess. We’re not gonna kill him though. I don’t wanna do that.”

 

“Fiiine.” The midget groaned as the door swung open and they walked back inside the room where Morgan sat, tied up. He needed to show that that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak, rather that he couldn’t. Although, even if he could speak odds are he would stay silent.

 

“Alright big guy, this is your last chance to answer our questions. If you don’t we’ll just sell you off to some slave owner for a quick buck or shove you off the ship. Something along those lines.” Morgan’s eyes widened and he immediately shook his head, he couldn’t go back, if he did lord knows what they’d do to him. Probably make an example of him like they did with-

 

He cut his thoughts off, not wanting to recall those memories. Morgan quickly ran through all the words he knew he could say and stuttered out a slurred, “Hey. Can’t talk.” Though, it sounded more like ‘hey hant hawk’ but hopefully they got the message. The pirate, who he assumed was named Bennie, stared at him with a questioning glance. “Can’t talk-?” He questioned, looking very confused and glancing over at Latin for confirmation of what he had heard. Latin raised their eyebrows, “You can’t talk? Like hell you can’t-“ They cut themselves off as Morgan tried to stick out what was left of his tongue to show them that he actually couldn’t talk. 

 

“Oh. Well now I feel like a bit of a dick.” The midget said, looking a bit embarrassed. Bennie glanced over at them with a chuckle before getting back to the matter at hand. “Alright, why did you sneak onto our ship?” That was a question not easily answered with words he could say. Morgan sighed and tried to formulate what he could say before eventually settling on, “Mistook for military.” It was short, didn’t give any information on who he was, and pretty much the truth. Morgan had thought this was a military vessel when he snuck aboard. They really should change the paint job.

 

However, it seemed the two people in frontof him weren’t able to decipher his words through his lisp. He groaned, repeating himself and trying to make his k and the ar more accurate. Still, they didn’t get it. With a frown, he tried to think of another way to tell them. Latin shook their head and said, “Whatever. Let’s ask a different question. Who are you? What’s your name?”

 

Now this he didn’t want to tell them, especially because one of them seemed like a pirate. They’d turn him in for the reward money without a care in the world. Morgan debated between giving them a fake name or not answering it all. If he stayed silent, the little one might get their way and kill him. If he gave them the wrong name and they found out that would be a whole fiasco. So, he decided on butchering his name so badly there was no way they’d possibly be able to recognize it. Which was pretty easy in all honesty. His name was hard enough to say even without him purposely fucking it up.

 

“I’m Morgan Jo Constable.” He said, making it sound completely awkward and strange. “Moran Hoe Honhable?” Bennie repeated back, seemingly thinking hard, “Oh! Morgan Jo Constable?” The stowaways stomach dropped. Of all the things these people could figure out from his lisp it was this? The one thing he didn’t want them to know? He nodded, trying not to give up his frustration with the situation. All he could do is pray his name wasn’t one they knew. Latin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Bennie, “Isn’t that the runaway slave that’s been going after major slave owners?”

 

The pirate nodded, “Yeah, I’ve seen wanted posters of him all over.”

 

“Well then why the fuck didn’t you recognize him?!”

 

“I don’t know! I don’t go around studying the portraits of other criminals!”

 

He deadpanned, these two were a terrible crew. It seemed like they bickered constantly, almost like an old married couple. The two stopped fighting eventually and turned to him.

 

“So what should we do with him?”

 

“Kill him.” Bennie shot Latin a glare, “I’m joking! Mostly. He did answer our questions, or at least as best he could and it’s a little less suspicious that he didn’t answer them earlier given the whole tongue thing.” They frowned, studying him. “I dunno, we could just let him off at the next safe port, I don’t really have anything against revolutionaries.”

 

Bennie nodded in agreement, but frowned. “The nearest safe port is a week from now.” The pirate paused, thinking, “But I don’t really want to just drop him in the middle of nowhere with no food or anything.” He seemed stuck on what to do with Morgan until the midget piped back up.

 

“I say we should keep him aboard for the week. There are those boxes you and I can’t move. He looks plenty strong enough to do that.”

 

“Yeah he probably could, but he’s also nearly broken my jaw and snuck onto our ship. Just leaving him unbound seems like a bad idea.”

 

“We could always tie him up with some of our anchoring chairs so he can’t escape while he helps me.”

 

“Latin. I don’t think the former slave would appreciate us putting him in chains.” Morgan nodded vigorously in agreement with Bennie. The pirate sighed, “I’m going to unbind you but I swear to god if you do anything to hurt Latin I’ll find some way to kick your ass.”

 

Morgan grinned as his hands were freed and he immediately rubbed his wrists. He hated the feeling of anything around them. Standing up he thanked the pirate the best he could and turned to Latin. The midget looked up at him, seeming somewhat annoyed. “Jesus Christ I didn’t notice how fucking tall this guy is I feel so tiny, and I’m used to feeling tiny, but like extra tiny. I hate it.” They harrumphed and led Morgan towards some boxes that blocked a walkway.

 

They were pretty big, but when he lifted it up he found it wasn’t too heavy given it’s size. He could easily see how it would be hard for Latin or Bennie to pick up though. Latin helped him over to the spot they wanted the boxes, making sure he didn’t bump into anything. He placed it down and pointed at it with a questioning look. What was inside? Latin shrugged and said, “I dunno, probably supplies that the old crew of this ship had. Now that they’re moved and we have someone strong enough on board I guess we could find out.” They grinned, eyes lighting up, “I hope it’s gunpowder, I could make some wicked charges for my arm. Quick question, on a scale of ow to AAAAAA how much did that blast hurt?” He debated it for a second and supposed the pain was similar to placing your hand on a hot pan. Morgan gestured a so-so and Latin nodded. “I need to give it more of kick, hopefully I can get it so that it’s enough pain to make a guy pass out but not kill them.” He gestured that they were close, since he had a lot of scar tissue on his back so it probably wasn’t as effective. “Alright, let’s get back to work then.”

 

About an hour or two passed and they had cleared out almost all the boxes. Latin patted him on the back and noticed the holes in the mans singed shirt. “Oh damn, I didn’t even notice that. I guess I could see if Bennie can lend you a shirt, though it probably wouldn’t fit. That and he’s totally going to be hesitant about it. Dumbass is probably stupid paranoid about having you roaming about free.” They shrugged and grinned, “Though I’d imagine I wouldn’t mind you without a shirt.” Morgan flushed red and Latin chuckled. “Well dinner has to be made by someone and it’s my turn, so you have to help me.” Morgan smiled and his eyes lit up. He’d get to cook in an actual, not campfire kitchen? Sign him the fuck up.

 

The dinner they made turned out decent, despite Latin trying to pour a destructive about of alcohol into pot, and Morgan ate it happily. He hadn’t really eaten since the afternoon before so it was a welcome snack. Bennie had joined them after a moment and quickly ate all of his food. “This is delicious! Latin you need to cook more-“ The midget cut him off with a chuckle, “Like hell I made this, the big guy did most of the cooking. Seems he’s a whiz in the kitchen.”

 

Bennie look surprised and a little bit upset, “You let him cook? Who knows what he could’ve done to the food!?” Latin rolled their eyes and shrugged, “Chill dude, I was watching him the whole time he didn’t put any blades or whatever in it.” Bennie grumbled and but grabbed another serving and sat down to eat.

 

“Where’s goopy?” Latin asked between bites. The pirate frowned, “he didn’t wanna come out, he’s kinda scared of uh... Constible? Yeah Constible that’s how you say it.” Morgan raised his eyebrows, too curious about this ‘Goopy’ to correct Bennie. Latin must’ve noticed his curiosity because they said, “Goopy is our other crew member, he’s uh, he’s four by now right?” Bennie nodded and took another bite of his food. “He’s a little slime Bennie found in the woods and decided was is son.”

 

Morgan lifted his eyebrows in surprise, a slime? Weren’t those dangerous if they were let out of their jars? It wasn’t like he could ask these questions but they dwelled on his mind nonetheless. “So, I cleared out the middle of one of our storage rooms and put a mat in there. That’s where you can sleep Constabale” Once again, Bennie has pronounced his name wrong, and he had a sneaking feeling this wouldn’t be the last time he did so.

 

He nodded, glad that the two of them had been friendly thus far. “Oh, Bennie, I noticed that when I blasted...” they trailed off, “Buff. His nickname is Buff now.”

 

“Oh god don’t nickname him he’s gonna be here for a week.”

 

“Yes and that’s a week in which he will have the nickname Buff because his name is way to long for me to give a shit.”

 

Bennie shook his head and gestured for Latin to go on. “Anyways, I blasted a hole in his shirt, think you have one that’ll fit him?” He frowned, thinking for a moment. “It’ll be a tight fit but yeah, I think I have one.” Morgan thanked him once again, grabbed his dish and started to clean it. He made a gesture to ask if they wanted him to clean their dishes too. Latin quickly took the offer, glad to get out of doing it, and Bennie accepted soon after. Really, Morgan didn’t mind doing it since the two of them had been nice to him since they let him out of the chair. It was his way of repaying them for not leaving him strapped to a chair when they easily could’ve.

 

After he was done washing the dishes he got Latin to show him where he was going to sleep. He glanced down the hall to thank them and caught a glimpse of a small skin-colored blob with brown hair peeking out from Bennie’s door and staring at him. Waving slowly, he smiled. The door slammed shut, the slime child disappearing behind it.

 

The next morning was uneventful, he just cleared out the rest of the boxes, and ‘helped’ Latin make breakfast. Really, they watched him make it so Bennie would throw a hissy fit as the midget called it. He made something simple, just some eggs and toast, but it made him happy to cook in an actual kitchen. It seemed a bit silly after only cooking in it twice, but he was going to miss it.

 

Bennie and Latin both appreciated the breakfast, and Morgan cleaned the dishes once again. After that he wandered around their ship, exploring it out of curiosity. It seemed like there was two floors to the ship and the top one was designated for rooms and some storage. The bottom was where the kitchen was and it seemed like what was a small common area that was bare. All of the rest was storage. The ship looked like it was originally meant to house 6 to 8 people, and he was right about it probably being a supply ship before whatever happened that led to Latin and Bennie now being it’s only crew members. Maybe they were ex-military? No, that didn’t make sense. Latin was too lax, military folk tended to follow protocols well and Latin was certainly a breed of their own. Bennie could pass for military but he didn’t seem to have the spine for it, seeming a bit of a pushover to Latin’s fire. However, he hadn’t seen much of Bennie, as he stayed up on the top deck either steering or doing whatever captains do.

 

While exploring, he noticed how messy the ship was. There were cobwebs everywhere, dust on all the surfaces, and just dirt everywhere. Honestly, the whole thing looked like it needed cleaning. So, he found a broom and got to work. He managed to clean one room, scrubbing and sweeping every surface he could. It looked a lot better, a bit cluttered, but it wasn’t Morgan’s right to move around their stuff so he did what he could. He walked around to find Latin when instead he came across Goopy, the slime he had saw peeking out of the room last night.

 

The slime stared up at him with wide eyes and Morgan chuckled, trying to keep Goopy from running off.He waved his hand and once again the slime ran off, into a room and the shadows. Slightly confused and upset, Morgan found Latin and gestured to an apple in his hand, wondering if he could eat it.

 

“Yeah sure man. I saw the work you did in one of the storage rooms, thanks for cleaning it up, you didn’t need to do that.” Morgan shrugged and took a bite of the apple, tilting his head a bit so he could chew. “Think you could do that to the other rooms while you’re here? Me and Bennie both suck at cleaning so it would be great if they were tided even if it’s for a little. You can even move some stuff around to make it less of a mess.” He nodded and smiled, glad Latin appreciates his work.

 

The rest of the day was uneventful as the morning, in fact, the whole week was uneventful. Until one day he found the small slimy child in one of the storage rooms, playing with a glimmering piece of jewelry. He stepped in the room, making sure not to sneak up on Goopy. With a rag he wiped down some surfaces, and smiled as the slime had not ran yet. When he was done, he sat down infront of him, holding out his hand to ask to see what Goopy was playing with.

 

The slime looked up at him hesitantly, and muttered out, “Careful please..” Morgan grinned as Goopy placed a small necklace in his hands. He studied it curiously, it had a silver chain and a small dangling jewel that looked like an amethyst. It wasn’t the most complex thing in the world, but the slime seemed very protective of it. He placed it back into Goopy’s hands. “Pretty.” The word was slurred as always, but the slime seemed to understand it and smiled happily. “Thank you,” Goopy said, “I stole it.” The slime seemed proud of this and Morgan chuckled. Kids, they never had any idea of morals now did they. The thought brought a wave of sad nostalgia over him.

 

Bennie opened the door and Morgan’s head shot up. “Goopy, there you are! I’ve been looking all over.” The pirate chuckled, “Alright Goop it’s time for dinner come on.” Goopy grinned and stood up, “Sit with you and momma?”

 

“Sure, I don’t see why not. You gotten over your fear of Connorble?” Morgan deadpanned, of course he got it wrong again. But other then that, the slime nodded. “Alright then.” Bennie took Goopy’s hand and they went out of the room. Morgan soon followed.

 

Dinner was fun, they joked and ate, and laughed. Morgan felt like he was part of a family and belonged for the first time in a long while. After dinner was done and he tried to fall asleep thoughts ran through his mind. He wished he could stay here, on this small little airship he had stumbled across. But all things said he couldn’t. After all he had only stayed there a week, and the others probably didn’t feel the same about his time on the ship. Plus, he was a hero of the revolution. The people he had fought and worked with expected him to go far, maybe even become a politician or military leader once the new government had been sorted out. Thinking on it though, he never wanted that. Power scared him, and the weight of people that depended on him did too. Being a leader was never something he was meant to be, rather something he stumbled into. These thoughts racing through his head, he slipped into sleep.

 

Morgan woke up the next morning, sad that today was the day he was leaving. He supposed all good things had to come to an end, and that included this little family he stumbled across. Getting up, he glanced around his room, not remembering if he had brought anything when he had stuck aboard. His search yielded nothing and he left his room. It seemed they had already made port since he no longer felt the airship moving. He walked up on the top deck and noticed Latin and Bennie relaxing and idly chatting in a corner. Waving, he walked towards them.

 

“Hey Constantinople,” That. That was the name of a city. Why did Bennie even try with his name? “We just need to wait a bit to sink and then you can get out and go.” Morgan nodded and listened into their idle chatter as he waited. However, he heard something else. Something... Strange. It sounded like someone yelling orders. He glanced down at the ground and his blood ran cold. They were surrounded by people wielding muskets and swords, ready to hack apart the airship soon as it landed.

 

Panicked, he grabbed Bennie’s arm and dragged him over to the edge, then pointed down at the people. The pirates eyes went wide with panic and he immediately glanced over at the stairs to the lower decks. “Latin, Cononable, see what you guys can figure out about those soldiers, I need to go make sure Goopy is in a safe spot if we get attacked.” He shot off and Morgan looked to Latin, not knowing what to do. The midget glanced down and looked over at their arm. “I’ve got a couple charges for this guy, but they’re close range and not nearly enough to take out those guys.” They frowned. “Fuck. We’re screwed. We’re fucking screwed, I can’t believe this.” Then, Morgan noticed a saving grace. The soldiers soon to surround them lacked proper uniforms, they were revolutionaries. Because of the damn paint job on the airship they must’ve thought it was a military vessel and surrounded it.

 

Morgan gestured to his shirt and pointed down to the people below them but Latin just looked at him in confusion. “What, you’re gonna kill them all by stripping?” They asked jokingly. He shook his head, heart pounding. There had to be something he could do. Then it hit him, revolutionary law stated they couldn’t fire on a ship that had surrendered. He needed a white flag, something white to wave. Latin’s shirt. In a panic he gestured to their shirt and the soldiers. “What you think me stripping is gonna kill them? Maybe blind a few but-“

 

That was it, he was fed up of people not understanding him and decided he was just going to do it himself. He grabbed Latin’s vest and quickly took it off of them before they could react too much. The tie was a struggle of them confusedly screaming and fighting back but eventually he got it off. That’s where things came down to the wire, they were descending quickly, and he needed to get the shirt off of Latin now. Cringing at how wrong it seemed he simply just tore off Latin’s shirt from their body.

 

They screamed and scrambled to cover themselves up with the discarded vest. Meanwhile Morgan flung his arm in the air and vigorously waved the shirt, praying they saw it before they got in firing range. He breathed a sigh or relief as they lowered their weapons, and in a few moments the airship had landed on the ground safely.

 

“Oh my god you fucking GENIUS YOU’RE LUCKY I DIDN’T SHOOT YOU!” Latin screamed, hugging him and laughing hysterically, “Seriously though if I ever see you again I’m getting fucking payback.”

 

After clearing up the situation with the revolutionaries, who recognized Morgan immediately and cheered for him, he said his goodbyes to Bennie and Latin. Hopefully, they’d notice their fucking airship looked military and would fix it. He doubted they would though and as he walked away from them he overheard their conversation.

 

“It’s a shame he can’t stay, he’s pretty much everything we need in a crew member. He’s strong enough to do the heavy lifting, he likes to clean, and his cooking is awesome.”

 

“Yeah it is, but he didn’t really seem to want to join. Plus, he’s a whole war hero I’m sure he’s got some snazzy job waiting for him wherever he goes.”

 

Morgan froze, they wanted him on their crew? Actually wanted him to join them? His mind ran through the thoughts of last night again. He could leave, walk away and get some high paying job, live in the lap of luxury. But did he want that? In a split second his mind was made and he turned around.

 

“Can I join you?” He asked and Latin’s face lit up. Bennie chuckled, whispered to the midget next to him and said. “Alright, Fine. Come on Conablester, you’re part of our crew now.”

 

Maybe on second thought, he didn’t want to join them.


	11. Sil

Sil sighed, glancing around the small town he had arrived in. It was one of his regular areas to stop by, as it was almost always safe and payed well. He navigated through the winding paths of the village, looking for the small inn he always stayed at whist here. After a moment of wandering, he found the inn and quickly slipped inside, paying for a room. 

He decided that tomorrow when the sun rose he should probably check on the farmers, Evalyn and Jonah, as he always did when he passed through this town. While he wouldn’t say the family were friends of his, they were probably as close as Sil got to friends lately.

However, his plan to have a nice safe visit immediately went awry. When Sil walked outside he was faced with buzzing town people gossiping and shooting looks at him. He would’ve thought nothing of it, explaining it as some newcomers to the town that didn’t know who he was, but then he noticed a military airship sitting on the outskirts of the town. Immediately his heart dropped, Sil knew one of the men who controlled the military forces of the empire had a thing again cultists. In fact, every cultist he had stumbled across had warned him to look out for the military because of that.

So he did what any logical person would do, he ran back inside the inn, grabbed his stuff, and tried to get the fuck out of that town. Emphasis on the tried. As soon as he burst back out of the inn a sick realization dawned on him. The folk he often visited while he was here helped outlaws and revolutionaries regularly. He could just leave and not worry about them, but the thought of doing so gnawed at him. 

Against his better instincts he booked it towards their house, as if he could make any difference if they got ransacked. In a few minutes he arrived, huffing and puffing. With a frantic knock on the door it swung open and he was faced with a blood covered Evalyn. At first he was taken aback by this, but her expression lit up to that of pure joy as she shoved him in that he didn’t even process it.

“You are a godsend!” She exclaimed, laughing warily. “There’s a wounded man on my dining room table and our local doctor won’t do shit cause you know how he is about revolutionaries and such forth.”

“There’s a wounded man on your table- how-“ Sil asked, quickly getting cut off by the nervous and somewhat frantic lady.

“Um- A old friend got injured fighting some soldiers off with his group. He got shot in the side I think.”

“You think?” He could only imagine the look on his face was incredulous. This situation was a ridiculously well timed coincidence. “Were they attacked by the military folk in the airship that landed here?”

“I- I don’t know, can you please look at him? I have no idea what the hell to do about it. I’m sure they’ll pay you afterwards if you’re worried about that.”

“No, no, it’s fine I’ll look at him. I’m just worried about that ship out there. Maybe Jonah or Dante can keep a lookout, you guys don’t need to be getting yourselves into a fight.” She nodded, gesturing to where the wounded man supposedly was, and then ran off to talk to her husband about someone keeping watch.

When he got to the table he was confronted with the scene of a small redhead, who stood on a chair, and a blue eyed peering over a large tan man on the table. The shorter one had a blood soaked rag pressed to the wound, trying to slow the bleeding, and the taller one was leaned over, seemingly trying to calm the man on the table. Although by looks on both of their faces he was failing miserably.

The midget noticed him first, “Who are you?” They asked, with eyes filled to the brim with suspicion. “I’m a doctor, I can help your friend.” While what he said was technically true, he flinched internally at the lie. He technically wasn’t a doctor after all. The redhead seemed wary, but moved out of the way so Sil could inspect the wound.

As he peeled off the soaked rag from the mans wound he groaned in pain. Cringing a bit, Sil studied it. Lucky, it seemed like a simple gunshot wound and wasn’t infected, far as he could tell. He felt underneath the man for an exit hole but found nothing, which made him worry. That meant he was going to have to go fishing for the bullet, and depending how close it was to the kidney he was going to have to be very precise. 

“You, I need some more light.” The short young woman looked insulted for a moment that he had ordered them to do something, but after a moments hesitation the obliged and brought a light over. With a pair of tweezers he went in, sighing with relief when it went smoothly. From there it was just a matter of making sure the bullet didn’t puncture the kidney and seeing the wound up. He made a small incision stretching up to the kidney, and sighed in relief when he saw there was no damage. Quickly handing disinfect to the dwarf and showing them what to do, he dug around his bag for a needle and thread to stitch the wound up. Once he had found what he needed, he waited for the person to finished disinfecting and sewed up the wound. 

Finally relaxing, he took a moment to actually look at the people around him. The dwarf (he assumed they were one, they looked like it) was about as tall as his hip and had scarlet red hair. What was most striking about them was no doubt the fact in the place of their arm and one of their legs was glinting metal instead of flesh. Deciding against asking about it he glanced over at the taller man that was leaned over the table. The man wore a dark blue coat, which was covered with blood, and his hair was black interrupted by flecks of gray. He looked somewhat familiar, and Sil figured he had seen him on a wanted poster somewhere. Finally, Sil studied the man on the table. The wounded one was tan with dark brown hair. Blood from the wound they had yet to wipe off of him covered most of his lower torso (Which, Sil noted in his head, was absolutely ripped). This man was also very familiar looking, but this time he could recall a name. 

“Isn’t this Morgan Jo Constable?” He asked, raising a brow as to why a revolutionary hero was with a dwarf and a pirate.

“Yeah. And?” The taller man finally spoke up, turning to Sil. “How much do you want for sewing him up?”

Sil shrugged, “I was just curious. I’ll take whatever, I don’t charge for life and death scenarios.” 

The midget interrupted, “Bullshit, he just wants to turn us in, that’s why he’s not asking for anything.” 

“Wouldn’t it be better for me if I charged you money and THEN turned you in? Seriously, use your head. Whatever you can afford is what I’ll take.” 

The pirate breathed out a sigh of relief, “Thank you. We’re short on coin right now, we can only spare a bit.” 

Sil shrugged, “It’s not a big deal, I travel alone, only use money for an Inn and food. I don’t need a lot.” He paused, glancing out a window. “You guys should be careful, there’s a military ship outside.”

“Oh my god, Why does everyone think it’s military!” 

“Because it has a military paint job?”

The midget piped back up, “It does? Military ships are painted?”

“How are all of you not dead?” 

The pirate scoffed, “Honestly, probably pure luck. What can we call you while you’re here?”

“Well, odds are I’ll leave soon. You don’t need to know.”

Lila piped up from the corner, holding the hand of a strange goop creature. “That’s Sil! He gives me checkups every now and then.” He rolled his eyes, he supposed his name wasn’t a big deal. Sil wasn’t wanted for anything, nor was he well known so his name wasn’t one they’d recognize. The pirate glanced down at the small child, “Thank you Lila, and Sil, I’m Bennie, my crewmate right over there is Latin, and that’s my son Goopy. It’s nice to meet you.” Sil nodded, “Nice to meet you too.”

The goop creatures face contorted in a strange sort of smile when it saw Morgan. Then, to his surprise, it spoke. “Dad, is Morgan okay now?” Bennie nodded and Goopy took a seat next to its supposed father. “Hi Morgan!” It cheerfully said, Morgan tilted his head towards the small child and chuckled. “Hi.” 

The revolutionary had a wonderful baritone voice, but the word seemed to spoken slow and carefully. Despite this, the word was slurred slightly. Sil shrugged it off, and started to gather his things. He collected his things and started to say goodbye to the people in side when Dante burst in from the family’s front door. 

“Guys,” He hissed out, quickly shutting the blinds of a window. “There’s a small soldiers heading towards our door. You need to hide, now.” 

Bennie’s eyes immediately went wide, immediately concerned with the small slimy child next to him. “Goopy, you’re going to go with Lila and hide in the fields with their slimes alright? Please, try and blend in however you can.” Goopy nodded and was whisked away by Lila. Dante gestured to a small hatch that had been previously hidden by a rug. “In here. Stay quiet and we’ll try and cover for you. My dad will come in and try to help move Morgan.”

Quickly after saying that he ran away to likely inform his mother and siblings of the situation. Jonah came in, and took hold of the large man on the table with the help of Bennie. Latin helped them down the hatch and shut the door. “Aren’t you going to go with them?” Jonah asked, opening the hatch back up for him. “No, I’m not wanted. Keeping me out here will make them less suspicious that you’d hide something.” He said, “Since if you have the weirdo out here you’re less likely to have other people hidden away.” Jonah thought about it for a moment, then nodded, “Alright.”

A few moments later the soldiers knocked on their door. It was opened by Evalyn, who welcomed them in, offered then some water, and stayed at calm as possible. Sil was pretending to read, Dante was trying to keep Julian in order, and Jonah was preparing a fake dinner. In a stroke of genius, the man had covered up the blood with a butchered piece of meat.

The soldiers looked around, and their eyes rested on him, as he was the odd one out. He feigned noticing them, and put down the book. “Hello there, is something wrong?” Sil asked, praying they’d go away soon. “What are you doing here?” They questioned, “You obviously aren’t related to them.” 

He stretched out in the chair and yawned, trying to seem as comfortable with them there as possible. “I’m just a family friend whose visiting for a night or two.” They stared him down for a few more seconds and then continued looking around. They seemed to be done with their search when one of the soldiers whispered to their leader. Then, everything went downhill. 

He heard the captain mutter, “Eyes of a cultist you say Everett?” The man turned to him discretely, “We can’t be sure, but if you’re right that’ll fetch us a pretty penny with Avidite.” There were more whispers that Sil couldn’t make out and then they made their way towards him. “You’re under arrest. Hands out boy.” The captain growled. Sil put his book down again and hesitantly held out his hands. If he struggled who knows what could happen. 

“Now excuse me,” Evalyn piped up, “Why exactly are you arresting him, he’s done nothing wrong?” The man turned to her, his men taking a firm grip on Sil. “He’s got the eyes of a cultist ma’am, maybe you weren’t aware of such a thing so you’ll be let off with a warning this time. However, we must take him in. If he’s proven innocent of being such a thing he will be freed and all will be well.” 

Sil laughed nervously, trying to get the family out of the situation they were in. “Oh don’t worry Evalyn, it’ll be fine. Don’t make a ruckus about it, it’ll only do you worse.” The lady seemed to catch his drift and settled down. With a huff, she let the soldiers out of her home, Sil in tow.

Sil’s heart raced as he left the farm home. What in actual fuck was he going to do? It’s not as if they’d believe him if he said he wasn’t a cultist, he sure as hell looked like one, and if they went through his bags they’d find Henriks old jacket. He was utterly and completely fucked. Some horrible person was going to find out he couldn’t die and rip him apart trying. Walking in line with the soldiers, he tried to figure out how to get out of this. 

However, he wasn’t left to think much. Moments after the house was no-longer in view, a midget collided with one of the soldiers. There was the sick crunch of bone breaking and the clang of metal. Soon after that there was a full out brawl going on in front of him. The soldiers fled and he was met with Bennie, Morgan, Latin, and Goopy standing by him. 

“What the literal fuck?” He asked, as Morgan undid his cuffs. “Number one, why the fuck are you moving?” Sil pointed to Morgan, “And two, now they’re going to go after Evalyn and Jonah and all of them!”

Morgan sheepishly grimaced and shrugged. Finally, Bennie answered him, “We faked, told them you were one of our crew mates in the fight, they’ll think you’re with us. Jonah and his family won’t be harmed. Only thing is you’ll probably have a target on you’re head now, sorry.”

Sil rubbed his wrists and narrowed his eyes at the people around him. They didn’t need to save him, yet they did. He supposed they did because Sil had fixed up their crew member, but then again Bennie had already paid him in the commotion of the soldiers coming. These people seemed to be an enigma of sorts, the lowest of the low, criminals an thieves, but they were genuinely nice. “It’s alright, I won’t be able to hop town to town now but, I’ll deal. Thanks for saving me.”

Latin chuckled, “Well if you wanted you could always come with us.” Their crew turned to them, “Latin! That’s so rude!” Bennie whined, shaking his head. He sighed, mumbling to himself for a moment. With one more glance to Latin’s pleading eyes, he said, “Well, we do have an extra room, and we get scraped up a bunch. Since were technically the ones that fucked up your town hopping style, I wouldn’t mind you joining us. Morgan? Thoughts?” The large man gave a thumbs up and a smile. 

Sil thought about it for a moment. These people were nice, had room, saved his life, he wasn’t able to hop towns anymore, and the idea of an actual stable job was pretty alluring. Well, it seemed that was that then. “Fuck it.” Sil said, “Why not.”


	12. The world has gone to shit but that doesn’t mean Alistar can’t be a little shit!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My brain: theyreoutofcharactertheyreoutofcharactertheyreoutofcharacter-
> 
> My heart: l e t t h e m b e h a p p y a n d p u r e

Alistar supposed there was a sick irony to the situation he found himself in, stuck with the very people he had been hunting down for the last year or so. It had been a simple decision to make though, deciding to put his and Gabe’s well-being over past grudges. Him and Gabe had too much food to do with, the crew had a shelter that couldn’t be raided like his previous home was. So, they brokered a deal: Shelter as long as the food lasted. 

Alistar and Gabe has stayed on the airship with the crew for about a month at this point. Gabe had started to grow more friendly with the people they were stuck with, apologizing to Bennie and even getting an apology from Morgan. Alistar however, had holed himself up in the small room him and Gabe stayed in, only coming out for food or other necessities. He stayed cold to the people around him and kept distant as possible. The only time he came out was when hen it was late and everyone was seemingly asleep. He’d go out onto the deck of their airship and stare at the stars. One of these nights, he was surprised to find the last person in the crew he wanted to familiarize himself with awake. The cultist, Sil. 

With narrowed eyes he stared at the man who brushed past him in the hall, and faltered. He could go up on the deck and risk the cultist pulling something while the more sympathetic people of the crew were asleep. Or, he could go back to the room he shared with Gabe and stay there till the next night. This was what he decided to do, for at least three nights until he finally got fed up with staying in one place and against his better judgement went up in the deck. 

Sil seemed to be steering the ship, not giving so much as a glance at Alistar when the man sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. It stayed as such for most of the night, until he had enough of the tense silence and broke it. “Why are you even awake right now?” He questioned accusingly.

Sil finally looked over to him and Alistar noted the rings under his eyes. “I steer when Bennie is asleep and our course needs some adjustment. Why are you up?” The cultist asked the question in the same accusatory tone he had used and Alistar internally cursed.

“I don’t like being cooped up in the room. Plus, the stars look nice.” 

“If you don’t like being stuck in the room then why do you stay in there?”

Alistar stayed silent for a moment, thoughts running through his head, maybe it was the lack of sleep talking, but he told the cultist the truth.

“I don’t know. You’re my enemies, all of you kidnapped Gabe, Morgan was a threat to my position, and you specifically are a cultist. Speaking of which I should go back to said room because lord knows what you’ll do.” 

He backpedaled, realizing the openness of his words. Sil was not only a stranger, but part of the cult that killed his parents. Alistar needed to shut his mouth and hide back in his room lest he spill anymore.

“I’m not a cultist.” 

Sil raised an eyebrow at Alistar, and the noble stared at him. “Not a cultist?” He questioned, “Not a cultist my ass. I know the symbols when I see one, and you have an eye splayed across the back of that jacket of yours. Not only that of course, there’s your odd appearance, especially your eyes. Don’t lie to me I know what you are.”

“Why do you hate the cultists so much? Do you have some sort of personal stake with them?” Alistar stood, brushed off his pants, and fled back to his room.

The next few nights he stayed in his room, not willing to risk seeing the amber eyed menace once again. However, his anxiety’s got the best of him and he eventually left the room. When he stepped out on the deck he was greeted by Sil driving the airship once again. Alistar sat in the same place as before. It stayed that way, until the cultist broke the silence.

“Sorry, about yesterday. I didn’t mean to pry. Just so you know, I’m not a cultist. I pretty much only wear my dads old jacket to scare off anybody that wants to get near the crew. To be honest I hate that jacket. I never liked any of the culty stuff and I ended up running from all of it soon as I had the chance.” 

After that it was silent for many nights, until Alistar was either stupid enough or comfortable enough to break it.

“I do have a personal stake with them. My mom was one, and when she fought to stay in the cult when she was being kicked out they decided it was too much of a hassle to deal with her and her husband. One ‘slip of the tongue’ later my parents were burned alive for witchcraft. I told myself I’d track every single one of the cultists down and make them suffer.”

“You know if you bothered to talk to him you and Morgan would get along. You both have a thing for revenge.”

“Ha ha.”

The next day Alistar decided it was time he finally put aside past differences and stopped having such a stick up his ass. Sil was right, him and Morgan did get along somewhat, though he could only understand the man through a ridiculous game of charades. Bennie was alright, a bit awkward at first, but a good person. His son Goopy was absolutely adorable and Alistar had no issues with the slime at all. Latin was a bit much for him, but endearing in a strange way. Of course, Sil and him got along fairly well. They mostly stayed away from talking about any cult things but it turned out they had many common interests. It was the end of the world, zombies ruled the earth, and Alistar realized who they were don’t matter anymore, rather who they are.


	13. Fear

Nobody expected it when it happened, and that was to their detriment. People were slaughtered on the streets, plucked one by one from life by these creatures, never to come back. Or so that’s what most thought, until the spring back up, transformed into the very thing that killed them. The government of course tried to keep everything calm and orderly, of course that didn’t work and eventually they crumbled, the crisis too much to bear. 

Morgan had never been one to be afraid for as long as Sil knew him, having been through one to many things to let much phase him from happiness. However, as they both listened to the screams of the floors below them as the horde slowly made their way up the apartment building Morgan seemed terrified. His boyfriend frantically searched through their apartment for a weapon, settling on a butcher knife they had for meat, and then looked for a viable exit. They were lucky enough that the pool was a short distance from their apartments window. They were lucky to have escaped, but that didn’t mean they could stop. Morgan grabbed his hand and they ran.

Their life from then on was a series of running, hiding, and scavenging, until eventually they came across a father and his son no better off then them. They all decided it was better to stay together, a larger group could fight off more after all. In all honesty, Sil saw the look in Morgan’s eye as soon as he saw the child and knew they weren’t going to leave the two alone. Soon, they came across another survivor, a short young woman who couldn’t be older than her twenties. They pointed a gun at them and demanded their food. Morgan knocked her out. Despite their rough introduction, Latin was quickly adopted into their small group once she proved her worth by using one of her prosthetics as bait while they ran from a horde. 

That’s how it was for a while, Bennie, Goopy, Sil, and Morgan all in a group. Bennie planned to find a boat and get on, then live on fish and boiled water far from the land. Sil supposed most people who had a boat had already ran off on it, but they all humored Bennie nonetheless. What else could they do? 

Turns out Bennie knew a man who was the bodyguard of some rich man who probably had a boat stored somewhere. He said if they could get into the man's apartment they might be able to find something that might let them know where that is. Sil thought maybe Bennie also hoped to find his friend. So, they traveled across the city, ducking ally through ally, desperately avoiding the undead. They were lucky in the fact they had no complications. Once they were at the mans place, they all rummaged around until Latin found an old layout of a dock area. However, said place was in an entirely different state.

After much debate, they decided to follow their lead. The group managed to hijack a car and be on their way. Sadly, the car only lasted them to the border of the two states, from then on it was walking. This time, they weren’t so lucky as to be without complications. Two days after they set out on foot, they ran into a large group of a dozen survivors, and they weren’t the accepting kind. In fact, they were the resort to cannibalism kind. They grabbed Goopy from the group, seeing him as prime weak meat to kill. It was as if some beast from hell took hold of Bennie because the man was brutal when it came to getting Goopy back. The worst thing Sil saw him do was take a man's head clean off with a cleaver, then not even sparing another glance at the body. 

When they found Goopy, Sil nearly sobbed. The child had been curled up in a corner of a small dark room, blood pooling by his feet. The cannibals had taken one of his arms for food, then left him to die. Luckily, with Latin’s knowledge of amputees and Sil’s medical knowledge they managed to get the wound to heal. Goopy never seemed quite the same afterwards. He used to wander and constantly had to reminded of staying with the group. Now he clung to Bennie like a lifeline, staying within an arm's reach at all times. 

They had to pause their journey to the docks while Goopy was healing, not wanting to risk the boys health, but once he was deemed well enough to travel they were back on their way. Bennie was determined as ever, desperate to get away from the hellscape the mainland had become. Sil couldn’t blame him for feeling that way after what happened to Goopy. 

It took them what seemed like weeks until eventually they made it to the docks only to be confronted with one last challenge. As they walked into the building that housed the trailer with the boat, a man tackled Bennie. Morgan ran to help him, but was then held at gunpoint by another stranger. It took a moment, but Sil recognized the stranger as a former politician, probably the one who owned this place and the boat. 

The scuffle with Bennie came to a stop with a gasp of surprise. It seemed the man who had tackled him was the bodyguard who he had been friends with. They got up, and the bodyguard warily looked at the others in their group. The politician, who he later learned was named Alistar, still hadn’t lowered the gun pointed at Morgan. Gabe and Alistar shared whispered words, the air tense and panicked. The gun still wasn’t lowered. Sil caught snippets of the whispered conversation, something about Goopy, something about the boat. His skin crawled. Something was wrong and they could tell, yet nobody made a move lest the gun went off.

Then, the two broke the news to them. The boat in the docks could only fit five people at the max. Gabe said they’d let Bennie and Goopy come with them, but they’d have to leave the others behind. Sil could see the conflict in Bennie’s eyes, torn between an old friend, the well-being of his child, and his new family. They didn’t want to steal the boat from these people, but Bennie had made the decision to stay with Sil and them. Morgan made the first move, lunging at Alistar whist he was distracted. A gunshot rung through the air as Alistar was tackled and pinned to the ground. 

Luckily, nobody got hit. Unlucky, the sound of the shot stirred the groups of undead that lurked outside. Suddenly, zombies flooded through the building. Sil ran, glancing back to see everyone following him. It was life or death, they either took the boat or died. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and he wheezed, desperately trying to keep up with the others. His body felt sluggish and he struggled, feet clawing at the pavement as the growls of the incoming undead surrounded him. Suddenly, someone had grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him out of the horde. He heard a yelp of pain, but was too foggy to fully process everything going on.

Next thing Sil knew, he was laying on a couch, the sea whizzing past in the windows around him. Morgan wrapped his arms around him and Sil gladly returned the hug. However, when he pulled away his eye widened and he stared at Morgan’s shoulder. Right where his neck met his shoulder there was a vicious bite that slowly dripped blood. Morgan had been bit. No, not only that, Morgan had been bit saving him. Guilt flooded his body and tears welled up in his eyes. It was his fault. 

Moments later, when Sil was recovered enough to get up and stand, they all talked about what to do with Morgan. He wanted them to kill him, didn’t want to turn into one of the undead. The idea made Sil want to vomit. It was too similar to Leroy and Sil didn’t want anything to do with it. Morgan’s last days were spent as happily as physically possible when living with death's scythe perched at his throat. 

The last day, however, was like someone was ripping at Sil’s heart with a knife. Morgan had become sickly pale, eyes glazed over and ringed with black, cheeks sunken in, and heavy wheezing breathing as if the act of existing itself was a struggle. His boyfriend said nothing, too tired and sick to make the effort to sign. They laid together, and Sil felt the clawing feeling of tears at the back of his throat, threatening to spill at any moment. Suddenly, midway though the day, Morgan shoved him away, eyes blown wide with fear and hand clamped over his mouth.

Sil’s eyes widened and he sucked in a harsh breath. It was time. He took one last glance at Morgan, head hung in defeat and tears dripping down his face, then left to get Bennie.

They had agreed Bennie would be the one to put Morgan out of his misery, as Sil wouldn’t be able to do it. Sil had planned to be there when it happened. But as he stood there, staring at Morgan’s practical corpse, with Bennie aiming the gun, shaky hands and tears desperately being held back, he decided he couldn’t. He ran out of the room, the dam of tears finally breaking as he collapsed against a wall. Sil heard the sharp bang of the gunshot and slammed his head against the wall, wishing it was him instead of Morgan.

Morgan should’ve left Sil there to die, should’ve ran ahead and lived on without him. Sil didn’t matter, Sil was nothing more then a poor traumatized boy with heart problems. Then again, that’s never how Morgan saw him. He felt hollow only for the drowning feeling of pain that encompassed him. For what seemed like hours he stayed there, knees pressed against his chest near hard enough to hurt, and head shoved in his arms.

In all his life, Sil supposed he only saw Morgan he afraid twice. Once at the beginning, and once at the very end.


	14. Mom, Ma, and Mother

Gabe stumbled into the familiar house before him, unsure of where exactly he was. He was greeted with the sounds of women bustling around and going about their daily chores. A small wave of relief washed over him as he realized he knew this place. This was the brothel he was raised in, and he considered most of the women who were here as his mothers.

Suddenly, a cheery voice rang out, “Gabe! Sweetie, you’re home we haven’t seen you in months! Ladies! Gabe is here for a visit!” He flinched as the short stranger who had called out wrapped him into a hug. Gabe clenched his fist in an attempt to not tremble at the sudden grip around him and shoved the lady off in confusion. Then, he was surrounded by his mothers all hugging and giving him affection. The sudden contact with so many people made his throat clench and his chest race with false fear. Gabe knew all of them loved him, and were family, but he couldn’t help the spike of fear every time one of them raised their arms to hug him.

After the crowd greeting him had dispersed, the black haired woman who had originally greeted him started pestering him with questions. “So, how have you been? What’s been going on? Why haven’t you visited or sent us any letters in forever Gabe?”

Confusion rolled over him as he tried to remember who this was. However, all he was faced with in his mind was a foggy clump of memories he couldn’t claw through. His heart clenched with guilt as he cringed and asked, “I’m- I’m sorry are you one of my moms?”

The woman’s eyes went wide with shock and then anger. “Gabriel! That’s a cruel joke to make, quit it!” The guilt was suddenly replaced with fright as the anger in her eyes registered and out of pure instinct he stumbled backwards. 

“It’s not a joke I really don’t know- I don’t even know your name.”

“I thought I told you to quit it, I raised you better then to play a trick like this. Next thing you know you’ll be saying you don’t know who Jason was!”

“Who?” For some reason, the name brought forth a sad ache that he couldn’t explain.

The woman’s expression morphed from annoyance into one of horror and concern. “Holy crap. You’re not kidding, are you?” He shook his head and the woman, who he assumed was one of his mothers, had grabbed his hand and dragged him over to two other ladies. These two he did recognize as his moms, respectively called Sabrina and Laura. His mood increased drastically and a small smile even managed to worm its way to the surface as he recognized them. “Mom, Ma, it’s so good to see you.” 

“It’s good to see you too, Gabe.” Sabrina seemed to be working on folding clothes as she answered him, and Laura was putting them away in a dresser. “Yes, it’s wonderful to see you, we haven’t in such a long while.” 

“Ladies,” the mom whose name he didn’t know interrupted, “Gabe doesn’t know who I am. Hell, he doesn’t even seem to know who Jason was.”

Laura’s eyes went wide with concern, “What do you mean? He doesn’t know who you are at all? Gabe that can’t be right you were always so close with Melissa!” Gabe frowned and fiddled with his shirt, at least he knew the mother’s name now. “No, I really don’t remember her. I feel like there should be memories of her, but it’s like they’re all too foggy for me to get anything from.” He paused, fighting back the sad ache from earlier, “And this Jason guy she mentioned earlier, I don’t even have any idea who he is other then— other then a sad ache in my chest.” Trailing off at the end, he noticed all of their faces had warped into a sad sort of discomfort when he had brought the Jason person up.

“Maybe you ought to sit down,” Sabrina said, “We’ll make you some soup and you can- you can tell us what you do and   
don’t remember.” While Gabe didn’t exactly like the idea of them coddling him like a kid, food sounded tempting. He could barely remember the last time he ate something other then mashed potatoes and soft foods to keep him from intentionally choking himself with it.

However, when he sat down at the small kitchen table, he overheard whispers from the pantry. It seemed the one woman, Melissa, was crying. Gabe tuned out of the conversation in shame, guilty that he couldn’t even remember someone who had raised him. Were their other mothers that he just had no recollection of? Entire other people? Now that he focused on it, almost his entire childhood was blurry, and he could only really remember his home life, or some glimpses of his friends. 

When they came back, they sat at the table, right across from him, and started asking questions. “There’s some lunch cooking right now, it should be ready sometime soon. But in the meantime, tell us why you can’t remember who Melissa is? If you know why, that is.” Said Sabrina, eye brows raised in question.

Gabe took a deep breath, fighting the urge to stay silent. After all, did his mothers truly need to know the extent of what happened to him? He could just tell them he fell off a horse, hit his head, something along those lines. However, while the thought of lying was tempting, it seemed wrong to deprive them of the truth behind why he returned to them so broken. “The man I worked for, Alistar, he- he did this to me.” Gabe paused, gauging their reactions as he spoke, “At least, I think he’s the reason I can’t remember some things.” They stared at him with curiosity and confusion from across the table.

“The new king? He did this to you? How?”

He raised an eyebrow, did they not know about Alistar being a witch? It was common knowledge after he became king and legalized witchcraft. “He’s a witch...” Gabe trailed off, frowning.

“Well yeah, but they can do things like remove memories?” Laura questioned, eyes wide, “I’ve run across some folk like that before and they’ve never seemed that powerful...”

Gabe frowned, once again doubting his mind. Maybe he was wrong? But Alistar taking his memories was the only thing that made sense. There was no was he could’ve just forgotten one of his mothers completely. “I don’t know, but it’s the only thing that make sense.”

“But why would he do that?” Sabrina asked, head titled to the side in question.

“Alistar wanted to keep me there... He had some obsession with me, with keeping me near him even if I didn’t want to be. I tried to leave after...” he trailed off, mind fuzzy. “After Bennie. Something- something happened to Bennie but I don’t..I don’t know-“

“After Bennie was executed.” Melissa interrupted, voice hoarse from crying.

The memory came to him like wiping a frosted window, suddenly clear and sharp. He almost wished it didn’t. Gabe could hear the echoes of his childhood friends screams as they burned Bennie’s son right in front of him in his mind. Gabe could still see the broken and horrified look on Bennie’s face right before he hung. His breath hitches and he struggled to keep tears from his eyes. He had to stay composed, had to finish telling them. If he stopped now, Gabe didn’t know if he’d ever be able to continue. With a ragged breath, word tumbled out of his mouth as he didn’t even bother to make sense anymore.

“I tried to leave but he- he threatened me, told me I’d end up like Finn if I left... I couldn’t get out- so I tried to kill him, tried to get rid of him so he couldn’t.” At this point he was panicked, hands trembling on the table. “My eye,” Gabe crooned, “He almost took my eye.” Voice breaking, his hand almost instinctually rose up to his face. His heart pounded in his chest, so hard it almost hurt, and it seemed every breath he took was difficult. The walls of the room felt like they were closing in, slowly crushing him bit by bit. Tears slipped down his face. “Then I- I tried to- so many times- there was no way out- there was no way out- it was the only-“ Gabe barely managed to spit the words out between his sobs.

His mothers stared at him, not knowing what to do for a moment. Then they flocked over to him, hugging and rubbing soothing circles in his back as he cried. “It’s alright Gabe, we shouldn’t’ve pressed it. You don’t have to tell us everything now, only when you’re ready to tell us.” Melissa spoke up, her voice soft and comforting.

“And if I never can?” Gabe managed to whisper between his tears. 

“Then that’s just how it is.” Said Sabrina, “We won’t ask of you anything you can’t do.”

“Now come on Gabe, why don’t you go to your old room? We’ll bring you the food when it’s ready.” Laura said, faintly smiling. He nodded, his breathing more steady and tears slowing. “Yeah. Thank you, Mom.”


	15. Mermaid AU (Part 1)

Cool water rushed past him and his heart raced. Bennie and Goopy had been forced travel in the dead night due to trouble they had gotten in, but it didn’t mean Bennie was glad doing so. The seas were rough, churning and swirling with the overhead storm in the sky. The moon blocked by the clouds, they could barely see around them. It would be a prime time for some horrendous being of the depths to snatch them up, never to be even again. He sucked in a breath, a chill racing up his spine. Bennie picked up his pace, not wanting to be caught in these dark seas any longer. However, when he picked up his pace he failed to note Goopy’s lack of ability to keep pace. 

When he finally glanced back, the jellyfish was nowhere to be found. His eyes widened, and he scrambled against the current pulling him forwards. How could he have forgotten? How could he have lost Goopy? Bennie’s heart raced as he desperately fought against the water, eyes scanning murky depths for any sign of his son. He screamed the boys name, weak lungs gasping from the effort of swimming back. He was panicked and scared, so much so that he didn’t notice the shadow of a boat moving over them, nor did he hear the splash of a net in the water. 

Then, he saw his son, a blob of peach against the black. Bennie raced towards him and scooped the jellyfish into his arms. Goopy cried and clung to him and Bennie felt guilt race through him as he soothed the small child. With a sigh, he glanced up and noticed the darkness that had overtaken the sky. Then, panic once again tore through him. It was a boat, and with boats, came humans. Goopy held close to him, he rushed away from the shadow above them. In the corner of his vision, he noticed the dark gleam of the impending net that threatened to scoop them up. Bennie’s chest burned as he sped up, desperate to get away from the boat. The chase seemed to go on for hours, the boat and its net constantly behind him. Exhaustion seeped into his body, his kicks growing weaker, grip on Goopy growing softer, until eventually he felt the biting grip of the net surround him and his world turned to black. 

He woke up to darkness, and a rocking feeling that made his stomach churn. It was with confusion he regarded the memory’s of the previous night. Humans had found him, and yet he was still alive, still in the water. Maybe they had taken pity on him and dumped him back into the water? Bennie frowned and glanced around in the darkness for his son. However, his eyes couldn’t pick up anything in the pitch black. “Goopy?” He called out, biting his lip. Bennie no longer had the jellyfish in his arms and if the current was strong the boy could’ve been whisked off anywhere. Luckily, he was answered by a shrill, “Yeah?” He sighed in relief. “We’re gonna swim up and breach the surface yeah?” “Okay…”

Bennie flicked his tail, shooting upwards, and slammed his head. The world spun and his ears rung with pain. 

“What the hell?” He muttered, swimming forwards and hitting another wall. Bennie felt along it, hoping for a roughness or a place it fell away, but it was completely smooth. That could only mean one thing. It was human-made, and they were completely trapped in a cage. The thought made him want to curl in on himself, fear only amplified by Goopy’s squeak of terror as he undoubtedly bumped into a wall. His son swam into his arms and shook with fear, “Dad, where are we?” 

Bennie didn’t have an answer.

Soon enough, there was a glint of light, and a creak. Then, something thrashing and screaming was dumped into the water. Bennie pushed against a corner, curling protectively around Goopy. There was a slam, and the sliver of light disappeared. He was left with a screaming squirming monster. It seemed like hours before the form calmed and grew relatively quiet. 

“Ugh. Stupid fucking humans. Where the hell am I?” The mystery person growled, and he heard a thunk.

After much hesitation, Bennie piped up. “It’s some weird cage that holds water.” 

He felt the water churn as the person turned, likely towards him. “Who are you? Where are you?” 

“My names Bennie, I’m in the corner here with my son. They snatched me up a little while ago. Who are you?” 

“Names Latin. Any idea why they haven’t just killed us?”

“None.”

“So what, we just gotta wait here and find out?”

“I guess, yeah.” 

“Well that shit won’t work with me, I’m bustin’ my ass outta here.” Bennie’s eyes widened as he heard a sudden and harsh thud. 

“What are you doing?!” He screeched, letting go of Goopy and swimming towards Latin. “What’re you gonna do if that breaks? Flop out onto the deck, unable to breath or properly move? There won’t be anyway if you break this cage that you’ll survive, and you’ll take me and my son down with you!” Bennie pulled on their arm, heart pounding.

They grumbled, and pushed themself away from the wall. “Fine.”

After that, there were no further attempts made to the glass. Eventually, he heard Latin’s snores and hesitantly drifted off into sleep with Goopy in his arms. 

He awoke to chaos, screaming and flailing. Bennie ribbed his eyes and sat up. “Latin? What’s going on?”

“Where am I? Who are you guys? What’s going on?” It was the shrill panicked voice of a young man. He jolted up and made sure Goopy was close. 

“Calm down.” He said, “You’re on a boat, in a cage. There’s three other people in here. Me, my son, and another Merfolk named Latin.” 

“I’m- I’m trapped- I’m on a boat- no- nonono-“ The mans voice voice broke and Bennie heard harsh breathing.

“Woah there dude, just calm down, tell us your name.” He swam towards the voice, letting Goopy go and grabbing the man’s arm. Suddenly he was flung to the side as a shriek pierced the air, “DON’T TOUCH ME-“ 

Bennie’s eyes went wide as he slammed into a wall, the breath knocked out of him. Then, Latin spoke up, “Holy shit dude! You can’t just throw someone like that!” 

If the man heard, he didn’t respond, instead degenerating into mumbles. “I think,” Bennie said, rubbing his back, “We should leave that guy alone for now. He’s obviously having a panic attack, one we can’t help with.”

Latin huffed, and they stayed on the end of the cage away from the maniac. They chatted and it seemed after an hour or two, the man was calm. 

“Sil.” A quiet and shaky voice let out, “My name is Sil.” 

“I’m Latin.”

“Bennie.”

“Hi Sil, I’m Goopy.” They all sounded off, and Bennie heard Sil sigh.

“So, nobody else then?” Sil asked, and Bennie was about to answer when suddenly a deep voice called out. 

“No.” 

Bennie practically screamed as the voice sounded out from next to him. He propelled himself backwards straight into Latin. “Who- Who are you?” He asked shakily, “Why haven’t you sounded out until now?”

“Can’t” The voice replied, a slight slur to the word. 

“Can’t?” Latin said accusingly, “What do you mean can’t?”

The words the man spoke were unintelligible and broken, vowels clearly stood out here and there but otherwise they couldn’t make out anything. Bennie frowned. 

“Maybe he has some sort of speech impediment and actually can’t?” Sil spoke up from the corner. 

“That would make sense. Well in that case can you at least tell us your name?” 

“Organ.” The man said, sighing afterwards. 

Organ? Bennie pondered. Organ, organ, maybe it was Morgan? “Is that supposed to be Morgan?” He asked, tilting his head. 

“Yea.” Morgan answered curtly, and Bennie was glad they could at least know his name.

“So now that thats that what are we going to do about our situation?” Sil questioned from the corner.

“I don’t know,” Bennie said, “We can’t break whatever we’re trapped in cause then we couldn’t breath, and we don’t know the bearings of where we are. We just have to wait for on opening, maybe a human we can convince to help us, or maybe if they take us ashore we can figure something out.”

“I don’t like sitting here and waiting,” Latin said.

“Well, we don’t have any other choice. I won’t let you guys risk my sons life for the sliver of the chance that when you break the cage we can scramble back to the sea.” 

They sighed, and settled back into silence. One by one, they all gave into their tiredness, and slept.

When Bennie awoke, the room was lit, and they could finally see their surroundings. They were in a clear prison, he didn’t know the proper name for, and sunshine shone through a small hole in the wooden wall he leaned against. Out of it he could see the spray of water and the wash of waves, endlessly rocking back and forth. Bennie sighed, longing for freedom, then looked at who he inhabited this prison with. 

One person, who he assumed was Latin, was curled asleep beside him. They had a scarlet hair and a tail to match, but the oddity was their fins. One of their side fins was ripped and torn, another replaced with a strange metal and cloth contraption. Another, who he thought might be Sil, had white hair that drifted in the water. Bennie’s eyes widened as he noticed the harsh scars that covered the koi’s body. Shuddering, he glanced around the tank for the last person.

His heart skipped a beat as he laid eyes on Morgan. He was a large tan muscular merman with long brown hair, but the most important part was the fact he was a shark. A vicious merman eating monster. Bennie held back a scream and slowly backed away from the man with wide fearful eyes. Slowly, he grabbed Goopy and put him far away from Morgan as merly possible. Then, he shook Latin. They looked up at him, and mumbled something out. Bennie held a finger to his mouth, motioning for them to be silent and then pointing to the shark that lay asleep. 

Their eyes went wide and they nodded in understanding. Then they shook Sil awake, who’s first reaction was that of discomfort, until Morgan was pointed out. His was a look of horror and terror as he pressed against the wall furthest from Morgan. 

“So,” Latin whispered softly, “The fuck are we gonna do about this?”

Bennie thought for a moment, then answered. “Well, we all have sharp teeth, other then Goopy of course, and it seems like you’ve got a set of claws on you. I say we wake him up, and if he seems aggressive we rush him. Take him out quickly, if need be.” Latin nodded, and slowly swam up to the man. With a nudge, the man stirred, and they shot backwards in fear. 

Sharp grey eyes studied each of them and the expressions on their face. The merman let out an exasperated sigh and pointed to him, then them. “No hurt.” Morgan said curtly, before settling back down to sleep. 

Bennie relaxes a little bit, still wary, but trusting. After all, the merman knew they could likely kill him as he slept if they wanted to and still when back to sleep. If that was any sign Morgan wouldn’t hurt them, Bennie would take it. 

“So,” Sil said, glancing out the window where the rolling sea surrounded them. “I guess we just have to wait.” 

“Honestly, that’s all we can to at this point-“ Bennie was cut off by the swing of the door, and a grinning human.

“Well, well, seems we reaped quite the reward, wouldn’t you say Gabe?”


	16. Mermaid AU (Part 2)

“Well, well, seems we reaped quite the reward, wouldn’t you say Gabe?”

The human grinned and turned to another man, presumably Gabe. Gabe remained relatively stoic except for the small smirk on his face.

“I told you we’d catch them easier at night, Sir.”

“And right you were. You’re totally getting a raise for this.”

A chill raced down Bennie’s spine as he frowned. “What do you want with us?” He asked, tilting his head at the humans. Gabe narrowed his eyes, studying Bennie. Meanwhile, the other human ignored him and stepped closer towards them. 

“We got quite the variety, how lucky. What looks like a koi, some kind of guppy, that tetras fin looks like it’s a prosthetic, so they probably have some means of replacing fins, that’s exciting, and-“ His eyes widened, and he let out a small gasp as his eyes raked over Morgan, “Is that a shark? We really did hit the jackpot.”

As he said that, Morgan stirred, and his eyes studied the human in front of them. Then, he glanced at the others in the cage. In a split second he was in front of them, placing himself between the humans and Merfolk with hostile narrowed eyes. Bennie thought he might be trying to tell they humans they’d have to go through him to get to them. It was a brave action, but useless. They couldn’t do anything against these humans with their guns and knifes. All he could do was take one down and another would would shoot him as he did so. Bennie would know. 

The human raised an eyebrow at the action and laughed, “Funny the shark wants to protect them. Wonder how that’ll change if they’re all left in there with no food.”

“Sir-“

“Relax Gabe. As much as it would be fun to watch, we need them in tip top shape. I want you and Finn on feeding duty, don’t let anyone else in here to see them. I don’t need a mutiny on my hands.”

Gabe nodded as the human who seemed to be his boss left the room. Then he glanced at the tank for a moment, eyes trained on Bennie, and left. Once again, they were left to their own devices. 

Then they were faced with an entirely different problem, their growling stomachs and the shark that swam with them. That human was right, what would happen if they missed a meal, or weren’t fed. What would Morgan do? The merman seemed to want to protect them, but Bennie couldn’t take his eyes off of his sharp curled teeth and long claws. The shark must’ve noticed him staring, because his face fell into sadness for a split second, before he turned away and settled back on the floor to sleep. 

With a guilty frown, he turned back to the two other Merfolk that inhabited their cage. Sil had sunk to the bottom of the tank in fear of the humans, and idly talked to Goopy. Latin slumped in a corner, arms crossed and a scowl on their face. 

“So,” Bennie said, frowning, “I came up with an idea on how we could get out.” Latin raised a brow, looking at him in curiosity. “The back wall with the window faces the ocean. It seems like it’s metal, but if we found some way to break through it we’d be thrown right into the sea.” 

Latin glanced at the wall, studying it to see if what he said was true. “Yeah.” They answered, a grin sprouting on their face, “That could work. We’d need to find some way to break through it though, we’re certainly not strong enough.” 

Bennie nodded and smiled faintly, glad to have a plan for once. “Maybe we can see if one of the humans will take enough pity on us to free us?” 

Sil perked up, finally rising off of the floor. “They might, humans have been somewhat kind to me before.” 

Then the door swung open, a different human stepping into the room. She had short brown hair that seemed to stick up in every which way, and a green uniform. When she saw them her eyes widened and she sprouted a grin. 

“Wow…” she whispered out, staring at them with twinkling eyes, “You guys are so cool…” 

A bucket swung by her side, and Bennie couldn’t help but notice the fish that filled it. His stomach seemed to growl almost on cue and the woman glanced down at her bucket. 

“Oh yeah,” she mumbled to herself, “you guys must be starving.”

Turns out where they were held had a small latch at the top, and when unhooked the roof swung up. The woman dumped the fish out into the tank and almost immediately it was a scramble to get to it. Bennie had gotten his hands on a morsel, but then was faced with sharp eyes and teeth glaring at him. Letting go of the morsel in fear, he backed up, Latin following suit. Morgan then had all of the food and with a huff he studied it. Then, he handed them all three pieces.

“Equal.” The merman said, then settled back down on the floor to eat his part. Bennie sighed, glad that didn’t turn out any different, and turned back to the human.

“You guys can talk? Alistar- he didn’t say you were intelligent…” She said, eyes narrowed and lips pressed in a thin line. 

“Yeah, we can talk, we’re just as smart as you humans.” Latin spoke up, realizing their chance to escape, “Why? Do you have a problem with holding five completely innocent people prisoner and tearing them away from their home?” 

The humans eyes widened once again and her gaze hit the floor guiltily. For a moment, it seemed like she wanted to say something, but instead she fled back through the door. 

“Good job guilt tripping her.” Sil snarked, still picking at the remains of fish, “Who knows if she’ll come back.”

“What and you could’ve done so much better? You practically shit yourself soon as a human walks in.”

“Actually, I could’ve. I’ve gotten out of situations like this before Latin, these scars aren’t from nothing.” 

“And what do you propose I should’ve done then?”

“Humans are greedy, you gotta give them something to get on their good side.”

“We have nothing! What could I have given that bitch to get us free!”

Sil’s eyes raked over Latin and he flushed bright red. “Well-“ 

“Okay, Okay! My son is 5! 5. Let’s not talk about this.” Bennie interrupted, blushing as well. 

After that they idly sat in boredom, with nothing to do but talk and pace around the tank. Then night came and one by one they all drifted to sleep. All but one, who’s peering eyes opened and kept watch.

When Bennie awoke, it was to Goopy fearfully chirping in his ear. Apparently the female human was back, this time without food. 

“Hello,” she said, her expression unreadable, “We didn’t really get off on the right foot, so why not now? My names Finn.”

Bennie frowned, and before he could answer, Latin did. “Why your name? We don’t care we’ll be dead soon enough anyways.” 

“I don’t know, I don’t really agree with what Alistar’s doing so I guess I want to try and make you guys a little less miserable if I can.” She paused, “And you’re not going to be killed.”

“We’re not?” Bennie questioned, head tilted.

“No, we’re selling you off to a research facility that’ll just put you in tanks and study you. Once they find out you’re intelligent life they’ll probably let you go.”

“Why not just let us out now, since you know we’re not just dumb fish?”

“I need the money from this job.”

Bennie sighed, humans and their money. They’d never be able to convince this greedy human to let them go. At least they weren’t going to their death, if that was any reassurance. 

“I guess that helps. Thanks Finn, I’m Bennie.” He said hesitantly, “The shark that’s asleep is Morgan, the koi is Sil, and that’s Latin.”

“Nice to meet you guys, I’ve got to go, Gabe should be in here with fish soon.” With that, the human left, leaving them no better off then they were before. What they said wasn’t untrue, the male human with a missing eye came into the room with a bucket of fish. His eye followed Bennie as he dumped the fish in the tank. The man seemed to mumble something under his breath, then left the room.

From then on their life was somewhat of a routine. Sleep, wake up, eat, then sleep. Over and over. It was bound to turn any sane man insane, and by the fifth day on the ship Latin paced the length of the tank, again and again. Until, they were interrupted by a slamming door. 

They shot up, curiosity sparking as they heard the slam. Finn had bursted into the room, chest heaving from breathing heavily. 

“You guys need to get out of here as soon as possible. I just found out my- my boss plans to sell all but one of you off to the black market to be killed and used as- as food or pets- or things I don’t even want to think about-“ They said between pants. 

Bennie’s eyes widened and he immediately grabbed Goopy protectively. “That’s all well and good but how are we going to get out?” He asked.

Latin’s eyes lit up with realizing, “Bennie, the wall thing we talked about! Finn, please can you get us something to break through this wall?”

She stared for a moment, thinking. “But- but that’ll sink the ship-“

“Please...“ Sil spoke up, finally using his weak and frail body to use by looking as pathetic as possible. 

Finn looked conflicted, “I suppose it’s far from the waterline… It could be repaired…” She sighed, then nodded and headed out of the door. 

Bennie grinned and wrapped Latin into a hug. “We’re getting out! We’re gonna be free!” They laughed, and gripped him back. Morgan opened his eyes at the sudden ruckus, and questioningly looked at them. 

Sil chirped up at the merman with a shy smile, “One of the humans had agreed to let us out.”

The sharks eyes went wide and he grinned, which was moderately terrifying. He got up and quickly sped over then wrapped them in a big hug. It was a nice gesture, if Bennie wasn’t right next his razor sharp teeth. Luckily, they were let out of the suspenseful hug relatively quickly. 

Finn returned, an axe in hand. Then, the door was slammed open.

“Finn, what are you doing?”

The black haired human was back, surrounded by guards. The large men flooded the room and ripped the axe out of the woman’s hand. 

“Gabe, men, leave. I’d like to talk with Finn alone.” 

The flood of guards left, leaving just the two humans, and a terrified group of Merfolk. 

“Sir-“

“I don’t want to hear it Finn. All these are, are creatures. They don’t matter, they aren’t human. Even if they were, it I got money from it I’d still sell them.”

“That’s not right. I don’t want to be part of this anymore if that’s how you’re gonna operate.”

The man narrowed his eyes, and his mouth twitched upwards.

“Well, in that case…” he rushed forwards, tackling Finn to the floor. The woman struggled and fought against him as his thumbs pressed into her throat.

Bennie’s eyes went wide and he shielded Goopy from seeing the brutality in front of them. Morgan surged upwards, hitting the roof so hard the hinges broke. The roof popped open, and the shark swam upwards again. Ready to jump out of the cage, and tear the human apart. However, Sil grabbed onto one of his dorsals, extra fins weighing them down. 

“Don’t,” Sil said, fearfully glancing at the shark, “I’ve been around humans for a long time, it’s too late. All you’d do is kill another and suffocate.”

It seemed the merman was right, as Finns body had already gone limp under the mans grasp. He stood, Finns dead body laying motionless beneath him. Then, he opened the door. 

“Guards!” The man yelled, quickly putting on a mask of sorrow, “I need you to take care of a body.” 

The one eyed man, Gabe, burst forwards into the room, grabbing Finn’s body. “What happened?” He questioned, tears in his eye. 

“She attacked me… I- I did what I had to do.” The human said. His head was tilted downwards, tears dripping from his eyes. It made Bennie’s blood boil that the man was getting away with murder right as they watched. “That’s-“ He started to yell, but was then interrupted by the man.

“Come on Gabe, let’s mourn somewhere more private.” 

Gabe nodded, gingerly picking up the body. Then they left, shutting the door and leaving the group of merfolk hopeless with no way to escape.


	17. Mermaid AU (Part 3)

Life went on the same after Finn died, other then the fact the one-eyed man Gabe fed them now. They woke up, they ate, they slept. They were closer now, though, and almost regarded each other as friends. Sil stuck by Morgan strangely enough, claiming the man was good protection. Bennie and Latin formed a strange friendship that was loud and boisterous, thriving on jokes and the shyness of the other two. But the days ticked by, and the mood slowly shifted. How much longer would they be in here, Bennie thought, how much longer till they’re all sent to their death? 

He could tell it crossed all of their minds, and when one of those days they saw land out of their window, they knew their time was up. Gabe came into the room with the bucket of food and dumped it into the water. The dead fish slowly sank to the bottom of the tank, none of them having much appetite with their impending doom looming over them. 

“What, not going to race for it this time?” The man laughed, staring them down. All of them were silent, either glaring or ignoring the man altogether. “Well, Alistar said to make sure you guys eat it so the longer you wait the longer I’ve got to stick around in here.”

Morgan reached for the food, shooting a menacing look in Gabe’s direction. However, Sil pulled his hand back and whispered something in the mermans ear. Morgan’s eyes went wide and he backed away from the food with a frown.

Gabe raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Hey, no whispering. You’ve got something to say while I’m in here, then you say it out loud.”

“Fine.” Sil growled, seemingly willing to confront folks as long as he had Morgan’s protection. “It’s probably drugged, that’s what I told Morgan.”

“Drugged? We don’t have anybody aboard who can do that stuff. Also, Alistar wouldn’t do that, we don’t know what it’d do to you.” He said, rolling his eye.

Sil scoffed and picked up a piece, “Fine, if you’re so sure of that then you have some.”

Gabe eyed the fish warily then frowned, “Humans don’t eat raw food.” 

Sil dropped it, smirking, “See, you don’t trust your boss enough to know that it’s not.” 

“Excuse me, I just said I wasn’t going to eat raw fish-“

“Sure.” Morgan nudged Sil, noticing Gabe’s agitation. He must’ve realized he made the human angry because his eyes went wide and he darted behind the shark.

Bennie frowned, maybe they had a second chance at convincing someone to free them? It couldn’t hurt to try, they were all going to die soon enough so what could go wrong. “I’m sorry about what happened to your friend, we didn’t know your boss would kill her.”

“Should’ve thought about that before one of you freaks made her attack him.” 

Bennie tilted his head in confusion, “She never attacked him, and we didn’t make her do anything. It was her choice to free us.” 

“That’s not what he said, and I’m not trusting a word you things say.”

“You’re sure you really believe what he said? That he was able to overpower someone with an axe who was attacking him?”

Gabe faltered, conflict in his eyes. “No- but-“

“We saw what happened. He ran at her and strangled her to death.” 

“You’re lying. There’s no way Alistar would do that. Maybe to a criminal, or a murderer, but Finn was just-“ Bennie almost felt bad for the man, the way he was denying it even though they could all tell he knew. 

“If you really think that he didn’t kill her in cold blood, why don’t you go ahead and ask him then?” 

Gabe froze, considering what Bennie said. He stayed silent for a moment, before slowly saying, “I- I can’t…”

“Because if we’re telling the truth, who's to say he won’t kill you too?” With that, Gabe took a final glance at them, and walked out of the room. 

Hours past until it was time for them to go ashore. Sil was the first to be taken out of the tank, and as much as Morgan found and bit he could only take down one man's arm before Sil was dragged out by a net. Sil sobbed, flailing and screaming as he was dragged out of the room, eyes filled with terror. It made Bennie want to reach out and help him, but there was nothing he could do but watch. Then, the humans seemed to learn their lesson about Morgan, and grabbed him next. He put up more of a fight, clawing and biting at anyone who touched him. Strangely enough, he didn’t look afraid, just furious. Latin was out of the tank quick after that, the men no longer having to deal with the snapping shark. They screamed, but it was different then Sils, it was angry biting curses and claws reaching out to hurt them. All to cover up how scared they really were.

Then, it was his turn to be taken out of the water. He grabbed Goopy as tight as he could, his chest clenching in fear. What was going to happen to him once he was out? Would the humans just leave them above water, struggling to breath and eventually suffocating? Or would it be worse, would he be handed off to some psychopath who thought of him as a rare snack? The thought brought shivers down his spire and terror in his eyes. Thrashing as the net and hands came at him, he tried to at least make it as hard as possible for the humans to take him out. They grabbed him by the back of his tail and dragged up as a squirmed, then threw him into a net.

Getting lifted out of the water was terrifying, and he hadn’t even thought about having to breath. He had never tried to breath above water, could they? Bennie held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Then, he was dropped, and felt the cool relief of water all around him. He gasped, and opened his eyes, immediately he checked Goopy. 

“Are you alright? Can you breath?” His eyes widened as the jellyfish floated limply and dread started to set into him. “Goopy?” He wanted to sob of joy as Goopy slowly moved, clearly shaken up but alive.

“I’m good Dad.” He chirped, and Bennie sighed with relief. He glanced around seeing humans all around on rickety wooden platforms that jutted into murky water. There were three other tanks that were thin and tall. Bennie noticed his friends in them. Sil was curled up in a ball at the bottom of his, shaking with fear. Latin had their palms pressed against the glass, claws scraping down it. Morgan was peeking out of the top of his, eyes above water and scanning. The tops were open, unlike the tank in the room, but it seemed to be useless to try and jump out. There wasn’t enough room to get enough momentum to jump out. Bennie sighed and slumped against the glass. 

A man started to move the tanks forwards, and Bennie noticed it was on wheels. An idea popped into his head, and he grinned. “Goopy,” he whispered, “You can sting humans, right?” His son nodded, and tilted his head in confusion.

“Yeah? Why?”

“You see the man pushing us?” Goopy nodded, Im going to lift you out of the tank and you need to sting him, hopefully it’ll make him let go of the tank and I can tip it.” 

“Okay!” With that, Bennie stuck his hand with Goopy out of the top, and reached towards the human. Suddenly the man screamed and grabbed his shoulder, letting go of the tank. It teetered a bit without the support, and Bennie took the chance to slam into the side hard as he could. The tank leaned to the side, glass shattering as his weight hit it. The water rushed to the side into the dark see and swept Bennie into it. He was disoriented for a moment, head pounding from the impact. Once he had his bearings, he grabbed Goopy and ducked under the docks. He heard the muffled yelling of humans, and the loud thuds of their feet as they raced about. Now, Bennie thought, to help free the others. After all, he couldn’t just leave them there to die.

“Goopy. Stay right here under the docks ok?” His son nodded, and Bennie swam to the the surface of the water. With a glance around, he figured he could snatch the feet out from under the men to give the others a chance to escape. Bennie swam all the way to the bottom the the channel, then shot up, leaping out of the water. He managed to get half his body onto the dock, and grab the feet of the man holding Morgan’s tank. Tugging, Bennie managed to knock the man off balance and send him tumbling to the floor. Morgan noticed his chance and did the same as Bennie, tilting his tank to the side till it fell and shattered. Then, the man joined him under the creaky docks. 

“We need to get the others out.” Morgan nodded, and they both took a side. They had to be quick about it, or else the humans might be able to grab them or get Sil and Latin out of reach. Morgan moved first, Bennie following him. He snatched the feet out of the human, and Latin grinned, freeing themself. At the same time, Sil’s tank tilted, Morgan having pushed it. The combined weight of both the tanks crashing seemed to be too much for the old dock though. With a creak and then a snap, the dock collapsed, merfolk and humans alike screaming.

Bennie’s eyes widened, and he screamed, racing towards the wreckage. “Goopy! Goopy!” Frantic, he weaved between struggling bodies, and broken wood. “Goopy!” Finally he found him, trapped between two planks of wood but seemingly uninjured. “I swear to god you’re going to give me a heart attack one day.” He helped his son out and hugged him close to his chest. By then all of the humans were out of the water, accept for one that struggled to pull himself up onto the remains of the structure. Bennie recognized the man as Alistar, the one guards boss, and had to fight the feeling to drag him under and let him drown. It seemed Morgan beat him to it though, circling around the man with a grin that chilled Bennie to the bone.

Alistar noticed Morgan and let out a scream, struggling more, desperately trying to pull himself up onto the dock. “Gabe!” The man yelled, clawing at the edge of the dock, “Gabe help! Pull me up!” 

Gabe rushed over, and held out a hand before hesitating. “Why- why should I help you? You killed Finn..”

“What are you talking about it was self-defense-“ Alistar sputtered out, defending himself, before letting out a shriek of pain. Morgan’s teeth had clamped down on the man's leg, and he tugged, slowly dragging Alistar deeper into the water. “Please-“ The human begged, lifting up a shaky hand up to the dock. Gabe grabbed his bosses hand and tugged, dragging him up onto the dock. Morgan circled the scarlet water for a few moments, before slinking away back to the group of merfolk. Together, they swam away from the dock, eventually making it into open ocean. When night fell, they were all still together, and decided to stop at a small coral reef to rest.

“So, what now?” Bennie asked, glancing and the group of merfolk he had spent days trapped with. To be honest, he had gotten kinda attached and didn’t want to leave them behind. It would suck to be alone again.

“I don’t know, I was headed for fresh water but now I- I don’t really want to go back near the coast for a while.” Sil said, and Bennie noticed how close he was still sitting to Morgan. Their experience must’ve really shook him up.

Latin frowned, tuning in, “I don’t really have anywhere to go either, I was thinking about trying to find this old treasure they say is in the northern waters, but I lost all direction while we were on the boat. I doubt I can make my way back.”

“I live here.” Morgan said, glancing around the reef, “You can stay little if you want.” It was the most the man ever said, though still mildly hard to translate, it was touching to hear him say more than a word. 

“Sure,” Said Sil, obviously happy to stay close to the shark, “If you don’t mind.”

Latin shrugged, “I mean, ok, yeah fuck it. I’ll stay.” 

“Well,” Bennie smiled, glad to join in, “Until I figure out where else to go, it couldn’t hurt.”


	18. A deal with the dickvil

Sil funky dropped a rock on his boy toys head cause his mans wanted to mcdie. Lucky bitch. He felt like something was watching him, his neck pubes standing up on their little pube legs. Spinning around, he realized he was alone and let out a sigh. This place was spoopy as heck and Sil felt watched the entire time they had been here. He looked down at his boyfriends dead body and thought his caved in head looked pretty hot. However much his peepee hurt tho, he had to funky find shelter. Sil found a cave that was dank and moist, he thought it would be a great place to fuck.

Suddenly, there was a spooky presence all around him. It was like a crushing feeling in his chest and he struggled to breath. Collapsing to the floor he heard a voice echo in his head.

“Hewwo, it’s me the N-Tiddie!” It sqwaked and Sil looked up to see a big boi demone. The most impressive thing though had to be its phat ass cock that diggity dangled inbetween his leggys. Sil wanted that demons tentacle memeber inside him, and he’d do anything to get it.

“Wowuld yowo like to live fowewer?” Sil nodded, licking his luscious pink lips. “okioki then we gotsta make a deal owo.” Sil nodded, licking his luscious pink lips. “And towo make a deal owo we gowotta fuck.” Sil thought that made perfect sense.

“Yes. That makes perfect sience.” He said, thinking it made perfect sense. Anything to get that monster cock inside of his cloaca.

“Okay then.” Then the N-Titty picked him up and started licking his body with his retnas. It felt like ants crawling into every orphasis of his body and fucking him gently. He mowoaned in pleaser and slight pain since the ants were mcbitinh him. Still, he wanted that big boi in his ass. 

“Gimmie cock.” He said squirming against the eyes. The N-Titty nodded and shoved that big boi right on into him. Sil felt blood dribble down his thighs and he inverted his entire body to get some of that good stuff. He licked his blood off his tights and mcmoaned loveing the irony taste of it. The N-Titty decided to join in, letting the slick blood of his bung plopple into its seeing orbs. It vibrated in happiness and Sil squirmed. Then, it started to move and he crinkled in pain.

Eventually, the pain morphed into big boi pleaser and Sil was screaming like mokey. With one last ran the entity pumped his eyejuice straight into sils digestive system and Sil splooged is spermiez all up into the air. “Wowee.” It said, “That was one dowoosie of a deal.”


	19. Assassination Attempt

Alistar had always been a light sleeper, even before Laurel’s attempt to kill him. He blamed it on his time in the alleyways of the city, when sleeping with ears open was a vital skill. Sometimes, the slightest thing woke him up. It was a creak that made him stir that night, the sound of the floorboards and the wind. He almost passed it off, didn’t open his eyes and look just to see. His paranoia always got the best of him though, making him check the dark corners of his room where there was nothing to be found.

 

This time though, it was no trick of the wind. When Alistar opened his eyes he wasn’t faced with the darkness of his room. No, he was faced with Gabe, a knife perched in his hand and a grimace on his face. Alistar's eyes went wide and he froze, trying to process what was in front of him. Then, Gabe was moving, the knife swinging down at him. He snapped out of his fear and scrambled backwards, the knife ripping through the sheets. Alistar tried to run, scrambling through the bed desperately. Gabe grabbed hold of his foot, tugging him back into the range of the knife. Alistar shot his leg out, kicking the knife out of Gabe’s hand and sending him stumbling backwards a bit. He clutched his wrist in pain, cringing a bit. 

 

Alistar took the moment to run, sprinting towards his closet. Gabe came after him, tackling and slamming him to the floor. Thumbs pressed into his neck, and Alistar shook as he tried to suck in a breath. He fought against Gabe’s grip, squirming and kicking under the man's weight to no avail. Alistar wondered if this crushing pain is what Finn felt. Throat burning, he struggled to breath and his vision started to blur at the edges. Panic flooded over him and his eyes darted all over, searching for anything that could help him. His gaze landed on the knife and he reached for it in terror. The knife was just barely in reach. Alistar managed to scoop it up, stab it into Gabe’s leg, and run straight into his closet. Once the door was shut, he finally let his body relax and slouch. 

 

Alistar collapsed in a dark corner, his body droopy and head bowed. There was a slam against the door, undoubtedly Gabe trying to break through. Only then, listening to the pounding fist on the other side, did Alistar break. The reality of what just happened crushed him as sobs racked his body. 

 

Gabe had just tried to kill him. Gabe, practically the only person he trusted anymore _ ,  _ had tried to  _ kill _ him. His gut clenched and he hugged his knees, unable to do anything but cry. The slamming had stopped, and Alistar thought he heard a door slam, yet he stayed in the closet, terrified. What if Gabe was still out there waiting to sink a knife into his flesh or wrap his hands around his throat again? He couldn’t take even tempting the fate of it. So, he stayed where he was in the dark corner of his closet away from the world.

 

Alistar woke up in a pile of dirty clothes, and rubbed his eyes sluggishly. His whole body hurt, aching from the bruising and battering of the previous night. Shakily, he stood and stared at the door. Opening it seemed like a chasm as he stared at it and paranoia took hold of him. What if Gabe was still out there, waiting? Or if he got the guards in on it and as soon as his stepped out he would be killed or dragged out to god knows where.

 

He could feel his breath picking up as he stumbled back into the wall. Alistar didn’t think he could leave the closet yet, but knew he had to. So, he picked up a heavy wooden hanger and wielded it as a weapon. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stop him from hyperventilating as he undid the locks and slowly opened the door. 

 

Alistar was met with a strangely peaceful scene, given what happened the previous night. The sun shone through his far window, softly covering the neat room in golden light. It was calming in a strange way, and he relaxed a bit and let out a sigh. If one didn’t pay attention, they may not even notice the torn sheets, or trail of blood on the floor. When his eyes picked up the blood, he almost had the audacity to feel bad for stabbing Gabe. Then, bitter anger confronted him, and he balled his hands up into fists. Why did he feel bad or care? Gabe obviously hadn’t cared enough about him not to try and kill him, so why should he return it? The guard could bleed out for all he cared, it wasn’t his problem anymore. 

 

He eyed the bed, suddenly aware of the lack of sleep he got. Alistar didn’t want to sleep again, but it would be so much easier to do so then confront the issue at hand.Glancing at his desk, he wondered if he could shove that against the door so nobody could enter. Then, maybe he could move the bookcase against the window. He’d be safe then. 

 

The desk was easy, and Alistar slid it to his door with not much problem. The bookcase was harder, completely filled with large novels and the such. It took him about ten minutes, but he managed to shove it against the window. No way to get in, no way to get out. It was some comfort as he fell asleep, the wooden hanger clutched in his hands.

 

He awoke to knocking on his door, and he almost jumped out of bed, ready to hit anyone with his ‘weapon.’ After a moment, he realized it was likely just someone come to check on him. Honestly, he had no idea how long he’d been in his room but he assumed it was probably about a day. For a moment he toyed with the idea of opening the door, but all the things that could go wrong flashed through his head and dashed the idea into bits. 

 

With a sigh, he hoarsely yelled through the door. “Yeah?” 

 

It was the voice of a man on the other side, likely a guard that was sent to check on him. Alistar didn’t want to think about who sent him. “Your majesty, are you alright?” The guard asked.

 

“Yes. Leave at once and tell everybody that I am not to be disturbed until I come out of this room.” Alistars stomach growled, and he rubbed his head. “Not to be disturbed other then some servants bringing me food.” 

 

“Alright Sir.” He sighed as he heard the guard walk away, and flopped back onto his bed. Hopefully he could gain the courage to step outside, but for now he would stay inside his room. The only thing that worried him was things running without him, but judging by the guard, Gabe was taking care of it. The very idea that Gabe was taking care of things made him want to grab a knife and carve into someone, but at least it was useful.

 

It still took his heart a moment to catch up with his brain, to associate the man with what happened last night. Everything changed in a split second. It’s not like he hadn’t noticed Gabe drifting away in that same way Finn did, he just never thought it would result in anything like this. Gabe could’ve come to him, could’ve talked to him at least. Then again, Finn had talked to them and look what happened. Finn deserved it though, they questioned him, borderline threatened him. It was what he had to do. 

 

Was it really though? Was it justified? Finn never actually attacked him, just threatened to leave or out some of the shady things he’d done as leverage. Alistar couldn’t have that then, he had just become king and rumors might’ve started an uprising. He couldn’t have them leave though, for risk of those same things getting out. Would they have even let the shady under the table deals get out though? They had been a good friend and loyal to him for the longest time. Had killing them just been a bad example of his paranoia spinning fantasies that weren’t true? 

 

Alistar wanted to scream and cry at the same time. It was like he was fighting against himself, like every decision he tried to make had so many different answers and he always chose the worst one. Now, he was faced with yet another decision, and he didn’t know what to do. 

 

There was another knock on his door, and Alistar frowned. He had to at least open it to get the food. He cracked the door open the tiniest bit and snatched the food from the woman who held it. Only then did he realize he had been holding his breath, and let out a sigh. They had brought him some eggs, some bread, and a glass of wine. Thank god for the wine. He tore into the bread and practically poured the wine down his throat. Alistar hadn’t really realized how hungry he was until he had started eating, and in no time, the food was gone. 

 

He placed the dirty dish on his desk and then glanced around his room. Alistar needed to take things one step by one step, maybe then he’d start to feel more like himself. Firstly, the blood on the floor needed to be cleaned up, and the knife hidden. He grabbed a towel and wet it, scrubbing the floors clean. Then, he took the small dagger Gabe had used and shoved it into a drawer. Alistar almost felt better after that, the only hint of what had happened being the ripped sheets. He went over to his bookshelf, grabbed a book, and went back over to his bed.

 

However, on the way over he glanced in the mirror and froze. Alistar tightened his grip on the book as he studied the dark purple bruises strung around his neck. Then he turned away, not wanting to see it anymore. His mind was made. Gabe did this to him, and the guard receive no mercy in his retaliation. Fighting the urge to raise a hand to his throat, Alistar went back to his bed and read until the next day came. 

 

The next day, he took a deep breath, and got dressed. He made sure his scarf covered the bruising on his neck, and stuck a knife in his boot to quell his fears. Then, he finally stepped outside of the room. He swallowed and his hands felt clammy. Alistar hated being outside, hated every little thing that could possibly go wrong. He spend the entire time walking to his office tending as each person passed, desperately itching to grab the dagger. Eventually, he made it to his office, and ran to Lola’s cage. Luckily, it had been filled up, no doubt by Gabe.

 

The sudden determination about taking care of Gabe seemed to leave him and he felt his hands shaking. Why did the fucking betrayer have to be a genuinely nice person? Why couldn’t it have been that Gabe was secretly a money whore who wanted to kill him for the cash? But no, that couldn’t possibly be the case, given the asshole had gone so far as to feed his bird and send a guard up when he hadn’t been heard from for a day. Then again, maybe it was all just a clever act so Alistar wouldn’t kill him. He wanted to rip out his hair as conflicting thoughts about Gabe bombarded him until- until Lola had opened the latch on her cage and curled up to his shoulder. The sudden affection helped him steady his breathing and calm down. 

 

He sat at his desk, stroking the bird on his shoulder, and started working on any paperwork he had missed. There wasn’t a lot, as being king surprisingly lowered the workload quite a bit. As a noble there were always letters to write, bribes to sort out, someone to see, and someplace to be. However as king, most of the time he just dealt with letters foreign kings and civil disagreements that couldn’t be settled by the officials. 

 

Then, it was time to deal with Gabe. Alistar didn’t think he was ready for it, but it had to be done. He’d rather have a breakdown and get done with it then just sit and be paranoid until he could. Taking a deep breath, he informed a guard to go get Gabe for him.

  
  


Gabe came into his office and immediately scanned the room, jittery and quick. Alistar noticed the tapping of his foot and the slight shake in his step as he walked towards the chair and sat down. 

 

Alistar crosses his arms on top of his desk, desperately holding in his emotions. He wanted to keep this as professional as possible, and as detached as possible. He let out a shaky breath, then said, “I want you to know how much of a pinch you’ve put me in Gabriel.” He saw fear flash in Gabe’s eyes as he said that, and felt a sick sense of satisfaction. He wanted Gabe to fear for his life the same way he made Alistar, he wanted his hair to stand on end whenever he thought about all the terrible things Alistar could do.

 

“I don’t have anybody to replace you, yet I can’t just let you stay. To tell you the truth, I wanted to kill you. I wanted to wrap my hands around your throat and give you the same bruises you gave me.”

 

Gabe looked down and fiddled with his cuffs, avoiding looking Alistar in the eyes. He suck in a breath, and then quietly said, “Alistar I-“

 

His eyes narrowed, and it’s like his entire body went numb with a bitter anger. Alistar quickly cut Gabe off, “Your majesty. You will refer to me as King Avidite, Your Majesty, or Sir. Nothing else. You don’t have the right to call me that, not after what you did.”

 

Gabe looked up, lips pressed in a tight line. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then Alistar continued, his voice quiet, “After everything I told you, after I trusted you, you did this. I’m- I’m never going to be able to sleep again without a knife, without constantly checking and rechecking that everything is locked, that nobody can get in. I trusted you. Hell, I would’ve even gone as far to say I might’ve loved you.” He sucked in a breath, keeping tears from his eyes. Then, he composed himself, and got back to the issue at hand. “You will remain as General for the time being until I can find proper replacement. You will have a separate sleeping quarters on the far side of the castle, and you will not be allowed to leave. You will be forbidden from coming anywhere near any of the living quarters of the servants, guards, nobles, and the royalty. Everywhere you go, you’ll be escorted by two guards hand picked by me. If you try to disobey any of these rules or stop performing you duties as General, I will try you for treason, and kill you. Do you understand?”

 

Gabe sat there, stunned for a moment, before slowly nodding. “Yes, I understand your majesty.” 

 

“Good. Now get out.” Alistar looked back down at his papers, pretending to do more work as Gabe walked out. He couldn’t look up, couldn’t show his hesitance. The door shut, and he frowned. Not sure if he could trust himself, and the decision he made. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	20. Fluffy Talk Time TM

Gabe was never really the brightest of the bunch, but if he was good at anything, it was noticing little things about people and situations. His old commander used to say that’s what made him a good soldier, that ability to analyze a situation and know what he needed to do. He supposed it came from picking up on all of his different mothers moods and personalities, always knowing how to piss one off and make another happy.

What Gabe had noticed this time, is that there wasn’t a single time he could remember Alistar falling asleep before him. Even when the man was obviously more tired than him. His breathing never seemed to slow, and Gabe couldn’t recall ever even seeing Alistar asleep except for when they woke up. So of course, he did what any normal person would do. Instead of asking Alistar, he decided he would stay up until Alistar fell asleep before him.

After a long right of having fun, he knew Alistar was exhausted. The man had worked all day, slaving over paperwork and talking to nobles all day, then Gabe had intentionally made him do all the work. There was no doubt he’d fall asleep. So, Gabe relaxed, laying next to Alistar and waiting for the mans breaths to slow. However, no matter how much he waited, the man next to him never relaxed. In fact, he seemed to grow more tense as the moments ticked on, until Gabe finally felt him shuttering next to him.

Eyes wide, he turned over on his back and stared at Alistars back. “Alistar are you alright?” He asked, fidgeting with his hands. 

“Yes.” His bosses answer was shaky and quiet, “I just get paranoid sometimes.” 

“About what?”

Alistar was silent, and Gabe frowned, praying he didn’t say something wrong.

“Does it have to do with why you won’t go to sleep until I do?”

He felt Alistar tense up, fists curling into shaky fists. Alistar turned over, facing Gabe. “Yes, actually, a little bit.” The man refused to meet Gabe’s eyes, instead looking down at the sheets they laid in. 

“Why?” He asked, tilting his head a slight bit. From this close, he could almost see the hesitation in Alistar’s eyes as the silence bored into them. 

“My- my wife Laurel, when she found out that-“ he paused, and Gabe wondered if he could even finish the story. Alistar seemed almost guilty telling it. He felt sorry for asking, not realizing the mans paranoia and past trauma probably had something to do with it.

“If you can’t tell it’s fine. I was just curious.”

“No I’m- I’m good...I just needed a moment. When my wife found out that I knew she was a witch she- she didn’t trust me. Laurel tried to get rid of me, terrified that I’d out her and get her killed. In the middle of the night, she waited until I was asleep, and then tried to stab me. It was terrifying, seeing someone I loved so much try and kill me. Afterwards, I could never sleep with anyone until I knew they were asleep for fear they’d do the same.”

Gabe didn’t know what to do as tears welled in Alistars eyes. He quickly wiped them away, then turned back around. “So yeah, that is why I wait until you’re asleep.”

While he was normally against cuddling, denying even the fact he cuddled Alistar and Finn when he was asleep, he wrapped his arms around Alistar. He relaxed a little bit, turning back around and nudging his face into the crook of Gabe’s neck. 

“Just so you know,” He commented, pulling Alistar closer, “I’d never do that. It’s unethical to kill someone who can’t fight back, yknow? You don’t have to wait for me to sleep, get the rest that you need.” 

He felt Alistar smile softly against his neck, “Yeah, I’ll try. Thank you Gabe.”


	21. Dancing

“You don’t know how to dance?” Alistar asked, raising an eyebrow at Gabe. “And yet you accepted when I asked you to be my guard for this?”

“Well I didn’t think I’d have to dance. Normally I just hang out in the back and steal tiny food off of platters.” The man said, scratching the back of his neck. Alistar groaned, he didn’t want anyone but Gabe or Finn there, and it seemed neither knew how to dance. It was too late for him to say he wasn’t going to go, and it would be a poor move to come without protection. So, he’d have to make do with Gabe. 

“I suppose I’ll just have to teach you to dance then.” If Alistar had to deal with Gabe he may as well try to make it so that he wasn’t a bumbling buffoon on the dance floor. Gabe stared at him for a moment, the answered.

“Teach me? But it’s tomorrow-“ 

He scoffed, “Dancing is easy, you just need to know one or two things and not be ridiculously off-beat. It’s better then you going and not knowing what to do at all.” 

“I guess… are you sure? I’m sure one of the recruits knows how.” 

“Yeah, no.” He stood and brushed off his pants. “It’s not hard, come on.”

“What? Now?” 

“Why not, all this paperwork is draining, getting up and doing something would be nice. Do you have something to do right now?”

“Not really-“

“Okay then, shall we?” Alistar held out a hand for Gabe to take. After a moment, he took his hand. He wrapped a hand around Gabe’s waist, and held the other. “Alright, now put your other hand on my shoulder.”

“Wait- aren’t the women the ones who get held by the waist and put a hand on the shoulder.”

“Well, yeah but you’re learning it would be dumb for you to lead.” Gabe grumbled for a few moments, and Alistar laughed. “Don’t worry once you get the hang of it we’ll do it the other way around.”

“You’re not spinning me, I’m not letting that happen here.”

“Okay, okay, so I’ll teach you the waltz. It’s simple, and it’s probably what everyone will be doing unless they’re a dick and a show off.” He pauses and glanced down a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the dance. “Alright, so you move your feet almost like they’re in a little box. Since I’m leading, just follow what I do. If I step forwards you step back, if I step left you step left, got it?”

“What do I do if you step right?”

“You step right.”

“Aaaand if you step back?”

“Oh my god.”

“What I genuinely don’t know, I wanna be sure I’m doing this right.”

“If I step back you step forwards, got it?”

“Yeah, I think so.” With that, Alistar hesitantly stepped forwards. Gabe mirrored him, stepping back. Then he started stepping slowly, moving back and forth to get Gabe used to the rhythm of it. Looking up, he smiled a bit and studied Gabe’s face. He seemed to be focusing very hard on where to put his feet. Alistar was almost surprised by it. He had figured Gabe was going to fool around the entire time, but instead he was actually trying. It was nice. 

“See, it’s not so hard. Just stepping and swaying really. 

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been doing this stuffx for how long?”

“I learned when I was thirteen so, a bit more then 20 years. I actually learned pretty late for a noble, most are taught all of those proper things very young.”

“It’s hard to think of you not being proper all the time. To think, there was a point in time you were a scrawny little kid rough housing like the rest of us.”

“Perish the thought, I can have you charged with slander. I, Alistar Avidite, have always been an extremely proper gentleman.” He laughed, and noticed Gabe wasn’t looking down at his feet anymore.

“Oh yeah mister it’s so hard, you’re not even watching your feet anymore.” Gabe’s eyes went wide and he glanced back down at the ground. “Get that head back up right now, you won’t be able to look at the party. Plus, you were doing fine not looking.” He looked back up, blushing a little bit. Suddenly, Alistar got an evil thought.

“You know Gabe, I think you’re ready.”

“Oh, you’re gonna let me lead.”

“Nope.”

“Then what?”

Alistar grinned, “I’m going to twirl you.”

“Excuse me- no I thought I said I wasn’t twirling-“

“IIIII’m lifting my arm, twirl now or forever be demoted.”

“I will not twirl like a fuckin-“

“Twirl and I won’t stop you from beating up Joshua at the party.” It took a moment of thought, but then Gabe slowly twirled with utter contempt. Alistar struggled to hold in a laugh as the man glared at him.

“Am I allowed to say I hate you? Can I get fired for doing that?”

“Absolutely Gabe. I’m firing you right this instant.”

“Haha.”

“Don’t look so unsure, god Gabe. You’d have to do something terrible for me to actually fire you. You’re the best I’ve got other then Finn, who else would put up with those fucking recruits.”

“For the pay you offer? Probably a lot of people to be honest.”

“Whatever, you could probably kill someone and I wouldn’t fire you as long as you hid the body well to be honest.”

“So theoretically if I killed Joshua-“

“If only.” Alistar smiled and let go of Gabe. “Alright, I think you’re good to go for the party.”

“What? I still don’t know how to lead.”

“It’s exactly what you did just now but opposite and the lady follows you. Don’t worry about it, it’s practically the same. Plus, if I showed you how I wouldn’t have anything entertaining to watch at the party now would I?”


	22. Zombie AU (Part 1)

It had only been meant to be a small trip when they went off of the boat, as they needed fuel and more fishing line. But, when they got grabbed by people with big guns and even bigger scowls, things turned sour. They said they were talking them to a camp where they lived, to talk with their leader. Which, never sounded good.

When they arrived at the camp Bennie’s stomach dropped. It was a tall and terrible structure made of concrete brick and makeshift metal. He recognized it as one of the states former attractions, an old military fort from the 1700’s. They were screwed. The place seemed indestructible, and even if they ran from the men that held them, several more stood by the only entrance and exit there was. Bennie pulled Goopy closer to his side, hoping to reassure his frightened son. They’d find some way out of whatever the hell was going on. The group of them were toted into what seemed like an old makeshift office, and Bennie’s eyes widened as he saw Gabe. He had dark rings under his eyes and a scowl that could turn a sunny day to rain, but he was living nonetheless. 

“Gabe? You’re alive? That’s- that’s amazing I’m so glad. I thought you had died back at the horde!” Bennie smiled in relief, as the guilt of what may have happened to his friend had been weighing on him. Gabe didn’t seem to share the same relief as he did though, and frowned. Then, Bennie noticed the man sitting at the desk in the center of the room. There the same man who had been with Gabe before sat, his calculating green eyes trained on them all. 

“Thank you men, you can go back to your posts. You’ve done good bringing me this group.” The man smiled and the guards let go of them, leaving them in the room alone with the two. “My name is Alistar Avidite, though you may already know that. I was quite the deal politically before the apocalypse. I’m sure you’re all on edge, being brought into an intimidating place like this probably sends off the wrong signal. However, I assure you no harm will be done to you here. I’m even willing to leave what happened with my boat in the past. This whole fort is secured, we have food and medical supplies, even some comforts. All you have to do to stay if work. In all honesty I’m glad you’ve wound up here. Times have been a little hard and extra hands are needed.”

Sil frowned, stepping forwards. “No way we’re staying here. Why the hell should we trust you? Last time we saw you, you tried to shoot us. We’re just passing through.”

“Well, firstly, I did say I’d leave that in the past. What happened, happened. I’m glad I never got in that boat, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to make this camp. But, if you all really don’t want to stay you don’t have to. At least spend the night though, it’s getting late and travel is rough at night.” Alistar smiled and Bennie’s back crawled. Something didn’t seem right here. There was a point to what he said though, they couldn’t travel at night and a warm bed and food couldn’t hurt. 

Hesitantly, he accepted. “Staying here the night sounds pretty good actually. Thank you for the offer. Where can we stay?”

“Gabe, could you show them the way to the sleeping quarters? I’m sure you and your friend could catch up too on the way.”

Gabe nodded, and opened the door for the four of them. Then, they were lead through a series of hallways, to a large open room lined with mattresses and bunk beds. 

“You’ll have to ask around and see what beds are taken. Some of you might have to share some but I’m sure it won’t be a big deal.” He said and then started to leave.

Bennie stared at his leaving friend and with a huff told the others to look for beds. He was going to talk to Gabe. They had so few things left of the times before everything went to shit, and Bennie wasn’t about to let Gabe just slip through his fingers. “Hey! Gabe! Wait up huh?” He saw Gabe’s shoulders tense as the man stopped, and prepared to be yelled at. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened with the whole boat thing. I get it was your plan to go sail away to safety on it but it was mine too. I have a kid now, I had to what was best for him.”

Gabe sighed, and held his head in his hand. “Yeah. I get it. I’m not angry with you, to be honest. I’m just upset what we went through getting there was all in vein. It wasn’t originally just me and Alistar. There was another person, a young woman I used to work with named Finn. We lost her on the way.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. If it makes you feel any better, it hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows for us either. We lost someone really recently.”

“Yeah, I noticed. The big guy right?”

“Morgan. He got bit saving the white haired one, Sil, when the horde came.” 

“Did you have to?”

“Yeah. I had to shoot him.”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t had to do that yet.”

“Hopefully you never will. It’s something to see someone you love die but it’s… it’s entirely different to be the one behind the trigger.” 

“I can only imagine. Hey, you want to go get a drink? Pretend it’s old times when we were just dumb kids chasing chicks and the world wasn’t filled with man eating monsters?”

“They have alcohol here?”

“Well… not for everyone. We don’t need any drunkards y'know, but me and Alistar reserve the right to drink on occasion.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Meanwhile, Sil and Latin were struggling to find an empty bed. Most of everyone either ignored them or said no when they asked about empty beds. Then, they were faced with a family of five. 

“What’s wrong you folks? We’ve seen you asking around somethin’ but we’re not sure what.” The mother asked.

Sil scratched the back of his neck and glanced at Latin, uncomfortable with everything going on. They shouldn’t be staying here, there was something obviously off about the place. But, Bennie had said they would stay, not even talking it over with them. Who were they to argue? Latin was a cripple who couldn’t even walk right half the time, and Sil couldn’t do anything without worrying about his heart. Bennie was practically the only thing that kept the group functional now that Morgan was gone, so his word was law. However much of a bad idea those words were. 

With a sigh, he asked for the thousandth time, “We’re looking for some spare beds. We need somewhere to sleep for the nights”

“Oh, those two mattresses in the left corner are free.” She glanced down at her daughter, “Sweetie, can you go grab some sheets for these folks?” The little girl glanced at them and back at her mother. Then, she scampered off into the hallway. “So, what brings you here? There haven’t been many new members as of late.”

“Oh, we’re- we’re not staying here very long. Just sleeping the night and leaving in the morning.” 

“Really? I’ve never heard of anybody doing that. Most people stay. It’ll be a shame, we need more strong hands around here to do work.” The little girl came back with a bundle of blankets and pillows. Sil smiled.

“Thank you, we appreciate the help. We’re going to hit the hay now though. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Bennie realized as he sipped on the whisky Gabe gave him that he hadn’t had a drink since everything started. It was a strangely sad thought, something that used to be common now a rarity. 

“I never pinned you to go into the military Gabe.” He said.

Gabe chuckled a little bit and took a sip from the bottle. “Well, funny enough I only really joined it because of you.”

“Because of me?”

“Well, after your girl died, and you fucked off into nowhere we had no idea what happened to you. We looked, but never found anything, not even a trace of you. Everyone assumed you had jumped into a river, gone into a crack house, went somewhere and just never came back. Dead.” He paused, staring at the table where they sat. “I realized that well, me and Jason weren't gonna be together forever. Stage 4 cancer made sure of that. I didn’t want to be the next you. Didn’t want to be the guy that killed himself with grief. So, I figured something to do with my life after he was gone would stop me. Then I went and enrolled. Jason died the year after.”

“Oh.”

“Well, that’s one way to react.” 

“I can’t believe you all thought I was dead.”

“I mean, what were we supposed to think?”

“I don’t know… I just hotwired a car and didn’t stop going till I crashed. I woke up in a hospital two cities over and never went back.”

“Huh, well it’s late, I’ve got to get to bed. I train all the fighters in the morning so tip top shape it is for me.” Gabe stood, taking the bottle with him and pat Bennie on the back. “You should think about staying yknow. It would be nice to have a friend and if you’re really worried about your kid this place is safe as all hell.”

“Yeah...night.”

“Night.” With that, Gabe left, leaving Bennie to his thoughts. Maybe they could stay? Having a solid place would be nice instead of bobbing around place to place on the boat. Without Morgan it was much harder to survive and Bennie wasn’t getting any younger. Thinking about the long term it would be nice to have a group that could support them. It couldn’t hurt to stay a couple days and see if they liked it here. That’s what Bennie had settled on when he laid down to rest, right next to Sil with Latin and Goopy in the bed beside them.

When the awoke in the morning they were ushered out of bed by a man’s yelling. Bennie rubbed his eyes, and looked at him in confusion.

“Sorry - there’s a misunderstanding here we’re only staying the night. We’ll just grab our things and go.” Sil said with narrowed eyes.

“You sleep. You work. Everything has a cost here and the cost is labor, you took up space in our beds for a day so you work for a day. Simple.”

“Excuse me, but that Alistar guy said we could go-“

“Sil,” Bennie interrupted, “Let’s just do the work it’s no big deal. These guys seem nice just think of it as helping out. Once we’ve done our share we can go.”

Sil didn’t seem very satisfied with what he said, but it was better for all of them. They could see what the workload was, and if it wasn’t much then well, maybe they could stay. They were assigned to work in the greenhouse, as none of them could do much physical work. Sil had his heart problems, Bennie his lungs, and of course Latin and Goopy were missing limbs. 

The day passed quickly, planting and picking fruits and flowers of all sorts. The next thing they knew it was night again. Although the work wasn’t strenuous, it was long, and none of them were up for making the journey back to the boat. So, they stayed another night.

“Get up and get to work.”

They were awoken by the same man harshly yelling at them, and once again Sil argued. “We’re leaving today, no way we’re working.”

“I’ve had enough of you folks and your talking back. You say Alistar is letting you go, then let’s go talk to Alistar.” The man grabbed Sil by the arm and dragged him to the small office, and the group followed close behind.

When they entered Alistar was alone this time, Gabe likely training the fighters as he said he did. 

“Sir,” The man started, “These four people keep trying to squirm their way out of paying back what they owe and leaving.”

“You said we could leave,” Sil said, yanking his arm away from the man. “So, we’re leaving.”

“Well yes, I said you could leave but a debts a debt. You take up our room, you take up our space, and you work to pay the community back for that.” Alistar said, laying his head on his hand.

“But there’s no way we can leave at night once we’ve payed our dues, the work is too much and we’re too tired.”

“Well then I suppose you’ll have to stay.”

“So what? Is this how you rope people into staying here forever and working for you?”

“They don’t work for me, they work for the community. We all do.”

“Bullshit. We’re leaving and you can’t-“

Bennie elbowed Sil in the side and shook his head. “Let’s not argue about it. Let’s do the work, and see how we feel about leaving tonight.”

“But- Bennie-“

“Sil they have armed guards, we’ll just leave tonight after we’ve done the work.”

“Fine.”

Alistar smiled, and studied them. “Well, now that’s settled, you should in fact go do that work.”

With that, they left the office and went to the greenhouse. Another day of work passed, and when it was over, they were once again tired. However, Sil still wanted to leave. 

“Come on, let’s pack all of our stuff and go.”

“What?” Bennie asked, groaning. “No Sil, it’s too late and we’re all too tired.”

“Seriously? But you said tonight we would go.”

“It’s too late and too dangerous I don’t want to put Goopy at risk. Plus, I kinda like it here. Maybe we could stay? It’s safe and has sustainable food and a community. Goopy can actually be a kid and play with people his age, he can grow up somewhere where he doesn’t have to be afraid! This place can be that Sil.”

“Are you really that delusional Bennie?” Latin interrupted, glancing at Sil. “Look I’ve kept my mouth shut so far cause Sil’s been doing all the speaking up for once, but this place is shady as all hell.” 

Sil nodded, “Don’t you think it’s weird how they won’t let us leave?”

“They are letting us leave though! After we’ve done our work and paid them back!”

“But there is no paying them back Bennie they’ve got you stuck. We better leave now while we can.”

“Why are you so paranoid about this Sil? Why can’t you just trust something for once?”

“Because I’ve been in a place like this before Bennie! The cult I grew up in was like this! They lure you in with the promise of safety, of happiness, it’s all a lie!” His breathing grew raspy, and he stared Bennie in the eyes. “Me- me and Latin are leaving tonight.” Sil paused, “With or without you.”

He stared at the two with wide eyes. “You’re really going to leave? After everything we’ve been through?” 

“I’m not going to sit by and live in the same type of world that killed my family. I’m sorry you can’t see how bad this place is Bennie.” 

Tears welled in his eyes and his body shook. He looked down, only to see Goopy staring up at him in confusion. Then he remembered what he was doing this for. His son. He would be safe here, he could have a life here. It was all for Goopy. “Fine. Go then. If you change your minds you know where I’ll be.” Sil took one last look at them, staring Bennie straight in the eyes with pity. Then, they left.


	23. Zombie AU (Part 2)

Sil’s entire body shook when they left, fear and regret of his decision already creeping through him and ready to strike. Who was he to leave Bennie? To take charge? He could barely even function properly. Without Bennie, him and Latin were no doubt dead. Yet, Sil couldn’t stand one more minute in that fort. It was too much for him, the deception, the coercion, the fucking ‘working for the community.’ 

It was terrifying to leave, but they’d find some way to manage without Bennie. If staying is what he truly wanted, then there was no other way. At least Sil wasn’t alone, he still had Latin and there was no better company to be in. 

“Chin up Sil, folks change. Groups never stick around long anyways. It’s better to go in a dynamic duo! Us against the world.” They said, wrapping their arm around him. 

“Yeah…” Sil mumbled, “Where are we gonna sleep?”

“Well, from what I know this city used to be a real tourist trap-“

“The whole state was a tourist trap Latin.”

“Hey don’t get smart with me I’m the one with the idea. They will probably be a hotel or two we can raid for food and find a bed in. So I figure that’s what we aim for.”

“Alright, that sounds like a good idea.”

Bennie sighed and took Goopy’s hand. “Dad, why are Sil and Latin leaving?” He frowned, as the walked back over to the beds. 

“We had a disagreement. They uh, they don’t like it here.”

“Oh. When will they be back?”

“I don’t know. They probably won’t come back.”

“So they're dead? Like Morgan?”

“No, I didn’t say that.”

“But you said Morgan went somewhere far away and wasn’t coming back? Isn’t that what you said for Latin and Sil-“

“Goopy they...they didn’t die they just left. Like if I walked into another room and never came back out.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

Bennie shook his head and laughed a bit. “Alright, alright. Settle down now. We’ve got to get to sleep.” Stretching, Bennie crawled into bed alongside his son. Sleep didn’t come to him fast, and he laid there wondering if he made the right choice. This place seemed safe, Bennie didn’t see how it could be bad. Sure, the guy in charge was a little unnerving, but Gabe seemed to trust him and Bennie trusted Gabe’s judgement. Troubled thoughts swirling through his mind, he eventually fell asleep. 

Surprisingly, he didn’t wake up to yelling. In fact, it was really peaceful when he woke up. Bennie yawned, and glanced around the room. Some folks were still sleeping, others were milling about and chatting. 

He glanced at the family in the bunk bed next to him. “Hey, what’s going on why aren’t we working?”

“Oh,” A tall man glanced at him and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re one of the new folks right? You must not know. Saturday’s we’re free to do what we like, kinda like a weekend y’know.”

“Shit, they know what day of the week it is?” The man nodded, and pointed to a small calendar in the corner of the room. 

“It brings some sort of normalcy to keep track of time. Keeps us sane, even though it doesn’t really matter anymore.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Hey, any idea where I could find Gabe? He’s the tall one that trains the-“

“We know who Gabe is,” The mother interrupted, chuckling a bit, “We’ve been here for practically a month. You’ll probably find him in Alistars office, I’d knock before hand though. Never know what you could stumble into.”

“Thanks, you guys. I didn’t catch your names?”

“Well, I’m Evalyn, and that’s my husband Jonah. We have three kids Dante, Julian, and Lila. They’re running around somewhere here. It’ll be nice to have kids other then our own around. I’m sure Lila will love someone her age”

“Yeah, I haven’t seen kids other then my son since everything went downhill. Well, it was nice to meet you guys I’m going to go find Gabe now.” He smiled, then left, heading to the old office. However, when he got there he heard faint yelling coming from the room. 

“Well fuck Alistar what do you want me to do huh? You never tell me shit anymore! First you won’t tell me what happened to Finn, now you won’t tell me what’s going on with the missing fighters- why don’t you trust me!”

“Why do you assume I even know anything about what’s been happening! Huh?! People are going missing, people always go missing Gabe. Especially people who go scavenge and fight off walkers. It’s normal, you’re just making more out of it then what’s happening.” 

“Yeah, sure I am!”

“You are!” There was a pause “You know what. Get out of my office. I hope you enjoy sleeping with the rest of the camp for a week cause there’s no way in hell you’re getting back in my bed accusing me of things I haven’t done.” 

“Well fine, be that way!” Then, the door swung open, and Bennie tried to make it seem as if he had just been walking up. He didn’t think he was very convincing, given as Gabe immediately frowned and asked, “How much did you hear?”

He sighed, “Not too much, but enough. Something about people disappearing.”

“That’s all?”

“Well that and the fact you’ve been sleeping in Alistars bed. After all that shit you gave me about dating a rich girl-“

“Nobody's rich anymore Bennie, it’s the end of the world.”

“Sure, sure. What were you two arguing about though? People have been disappearing?”

Gabe frowned and glanced around the hallway. “Yeah. But let’s not talk about it here. I don’t really want anybody overhearing anything and starting something.” Bennie was lead through a hallway and up some stairs to the top of the fort, where they sat on a bench. He hadn’t had time to actually take a good look at the outside, and found himself looking at a relatively pretty view considering everything. The grass and trees were still green, and a small breeze whistled through the air. 

“So, what’s been happening? Is this place really safe?” 

“It is, it is. It’s what happens when you go outside it that’s the problem. People have been going missing when they go scavenging, and while that’s nothing new there’s something different about it. Someone always comes back, it’s almost never everybody that dies when things go wrong y’know? But parties will be sent out and just disappear into thin air.” He paused, frowning. “It’s happened too many times to be a coincidence Bennie, and whenever I ask Alistar he gets this look in his eyes. It sounds dumb, I know, but he knows something and isn’t saying.”

“That doesn't sounds dumb it sounds...really shady. He won’t tell you anything?”

“No, every time I bring it up he gets defensive and upset.”

“What do you think is going on?”

“I don’t know. Alistar used to be a good man but… but ever since Finn died he’s been paranoid and acting strange.” Gabe sighed and shook his head, “My guess is some folks that were acting up, harming the community or threatening him, went out there and never came back.”

“You think he killed them?”

“I-“ Gabe started to speak, but was cut off by a young child Bennie could only assume was Lila running up to them.

“Sir come quick, the new kid slipped over the wall, I can’t get to him!” 

Bennie’s eyes widened, and his stomach dropped. Goopy was asleep when he left him, and he had assumed the kid would sleep for a while given how hard they had been working the past two days. But, it seemed he had awoken early and gotten himself into danger. Bennie shot up from the bench, “Where’d it happen?” He asked, frantically glancing around the walls edge. “Where is he now?”

“He’s hanging on a ledge, I don’t think he can hold on much longer-“ Lila glanced behind her, then back at them. She ran over to the edge of the forts wall and pointed down. “There!”

Bennie peered down and his heart jumped into his throat. There Goopy was, precariously clinging to a small crevasse and wailing. Even worse, his crying and drawn the attention of a zombie. They needed to get him up quick, but to Bennie’s horror he didn’t think he could pull Goopy up. Luckily, Gabe stepped in, and reached over the ledge. 

“Bennie, I’m gonna need your help here. Hold me so I can’t slip over.” He nodded and grabbed onto Gabe’s hips as he leaned over the ledge.

“Goopy!” He called, “Take Gabe’s hand ok? He’s gonna help pull you up.” 

“I- I’m scared Dad-!” It broke Bennie’s heart to hear Goopy’s voice and the way it wavered. No doubt he was scared, hell Bennie would be terrified in his place. He needed to get Goopy out of there, soon as possible. No way was he going to let his son get hurt. Goopy was all he had left now.

“Shh hey I know Goop, I know, but you’ve gotta take Gabe’s hand he’s gonna get you out of there.”

There was a grunt and then Gabe started to lift himself back up off the edge. Suddenly, the man lost his grip. “Fuck! Fuck- Bennie, help me out here and just pull me back up. It won’t be too hard trust me I just lost my grip-“

Bennie didn’t even hesitate, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He tightened his grip on Gabe’s hips and pulled, helping Gabe make his way back up. 

Once he was up, Bennie grabbed Goopy out of Gabe’s arms, tears dripping down his face. Goopy cling to him, sobs racking the poor boys body. No doubt he had learned his lesson about the ledge. Bennie looked up to thank Gabe, but the man was gone, leaving behind only a suspicious trail of blood.

Sil awoke to Latin’s warm body pressed against him, and the faint sound of their snores in his ear. He smiled, studying them as they slept. It was peaceful in the hotel room they had decided to stay in. It was one near the very top of the hotel, so most zombies couldn’t get to them, plus the view was nice from that high up. Shaking Latin awake, he yawned and hopped out of the bed. He slipped on his clothes and glanced outside, wanting to enjoy the view for a bit longer. Until, he noticed something terrible. There was a mass of dark brown in the distance, slowly creeping through the streets and edging towards them. It was a horde of zombies, and a gigantic one at that. It seemed like hundred upon thousands of rabid creatures made up the brackish blob, and Sil had to force himself away from the window. 

Panic was already starting to set in. That horde would be on them in a day, maybe two if they were lucky, and that wasn’t nearly enough time for them to find gas. Even worse, they still had a friend here, even though they had left him. Did the people in the fort even realize the horde was coming? They likely didn’t, as Sil didn’t even see it until he had been this high up. By the time they knew.. it would be too late. Sil and Latin had to go back and warn them, they couldn’t just leave Bennie and Goopy in danger like that. Then they could fortify where they were now. They likely wouldn’t have any issue, since the fort would draw most of the zombies attention, and they were relatively high up.

“Sil, you alright?” Latin stared at them, frowning with concern. “You look pale as a ghost. Here, sit down I’ll get you a water. I don’t need you having a heart attack on me now.” 

“No- Latin I feel fine it’s just… look outside.” They glanced outside, quickly scanning the landscape before shrugging.

“Looks normal to me. Are you sure you’re ok? You might be having those hallucinations again-“

“I’m FINE-“ There was a sharp pain in his chest and he sucked in a deep breath. 

“Sil-“ Latin rushed over to him, catching him as his faltered on his feet. He shoved them away and took a few deep breaths, calming himself down.

“Please don’t baby me, we’re on our own now. I need to figure out how to deal with stuff on my own. Look out the window there’s… there’s a horde.”

“Oh yeah, I see what you’re talking about now. We should be safe in here, we’re stocked up on food and water and we’re high up.”

“Yeah but.. Bennie and Goopy. They won’t know what’s coming until it’s too late. We should go warn them.”

“Are you sure? That could end up being dangerous they might not want us back there…”

“I’m sure, we have to make sure Bennie is safe. At least while we can help it.”

“Yeah. Alright. We’ll go in a bit, AFTER I’m sure you’re ok.”

He sighed, and collapsed into a chair. “Fine.”

Bennie decided he had learned his lesson from now on about Goopy going off on his own, and kept him as close as he could. However, once his son had fallen back asleep for the night, he was greeted by a surprise. Latin and Sil had returned to the fort, and were being dragged to Alistars office by two men. He followed close behind, wondering why they had returned. Hopefully, they had changed their minds about staying here. 

The two of them were ushered into Alistar’s office, and Bennie slipped in behind them. Immediately, he noticed something strange. The irony smell of blood hung in the air, and Alistars eyes were puffy. Most importantly, Gabe was nowhere to be found. It couldn’t be too strange though, Bennie had seen them fight this morning. He doubted Gabe would still hang around in the man's office after that. Alistar studied Latin and Sil, his eyes glancing at Bennie for a moment.

“Why have you two returned?” He asked, suspicion tinging his words. 

“Well, we were staying in one of the buildings nearby here, at we noticed a horde of zombies. It’s moving relatively fast, and will probably hit tomorrow. We figured by the time you guys spotted it, it may be too late. So, we came to warn you guys.” Sil said, his eyes trained on Bennie.

“And I assume you want to let back in, in exchange for that info?”

“No way in hell honey.” This time Latin was speaking up, glaring down at Alistar. “We’re not community people, but we’re not assholes. You guys were in danger, we can do something to help you. Simple. We’ll be on our way now.”

“Very well, thank you for informing us. Bennie, why are you in here?”

His eyes widened and he nervously chuckled, suddenly uncomfortable. “Sorry, I thought my friends might be coming back. I wanted to welcome them.”

“It is a shame, but what can you do.”

“Yeah..”

“Well, you can leave now. Get out of the fort by sundown or we’ll make sure you get out.”

Taking one last glare at Alistar, Latin and Sil left the room with Bennie in tow. He followed them all the way to the gate, the last place he had seen them since they left. It seemed he’d be saying goodbye again. 

“I’m glad you guys didn’t grab the boat and immediately speed off. I rather have the last time we all see eachother end on a happy note, instead of a bitter one.” Bennie said. His heart ached seeing them again, yet knowing they would leave again. Sil and Latin had become his family in the months they’d known eachother. People who he could rely on and trust with his life, and now he was going lose them. Why couldn’t they see the potential this place had? Why couldn’t they just stay here with him, where they could be happy and safe. Sorrow clawed at his neck, and his chest felt like there was a great weight pressing down on it. 

“Yeah. I’m glad too, I’d rather have this then our yelling match.” Latin murmured, glancing over at Sil. “Look Bennie, we’re going to be in the inn just three blocks down from here. Top floor, room 441. If you change your mind about staying here we’ll be there for the next three days. Okay?”

“Okay.” Bennie wrapped his arms around Latin, and smiled sadly. “I’m going to miss you guys.” 

“We’ll miss you too Bennie.” Sil said, stepping into the hug. Moments passed, and they separated. Then, Sil and Latin left him again.

Once again, Bennie drifted off into sleep with troubled thoughts. Where was Gabe? Why had he left a trail of blood? When would the horde hit, would they be safe for it? Would Goopy be safe? Most importantly, would he ever get to see his friends again.


	24. Zombie AU (Part 3)

The next day of work was grueling. Goopy stayed in the greenhouse, as small children weren’t allowed near the outside. However, Bennie got switched into reinforcing the fort. That meant a day of strenuous work in the sun spent hammering metal onto the gate of the fort. Afterwards, Bennie just wanted to collapse on the bed and sleep for days on end. Gabe was still nowhere to be seen, which at this point was weird. Surely he should be training the fighters so they could take out any zombie that got in and shoot the ones smart enough to crawl up the walls. Bennie hadn’t seen him all day and given the last time he had seen Gabe he had left a trail of blood, Bennie was worried. 

He figured there was no harm in getting up to look for Gabe so his worries would be put to rest. Plus, maybe he could grab some food while looking. With a yawn, he climbed out of the bed and headed wandered the halls. Despite being at the fort for a little under a week, nobody had bothered to show him around yet. He wondered if maybe he could ask Jonah to show him around. The man seemed soft spoken, but nice. As he wandered, he started to notice all the cracks and crannies of the fort. Was it really as safe as they said it was? It was an old structure, and the most they could do to fix it up was hammer metal and wood over windows and holes. 

In fact, the more he thought about it, the more shady the place seemed. Alistar seemed creepy, and if he was keeping secrets about people disappearing, he may even be dangerous. There were kids here, but nothing for them to do or play with, and no precautions taken so they don’t hurt themselves. As evident by Goopy almost falling off the side. It seemed structurally sound and strong, yet there were cracks and crevices painting the walls. 

Bennie frowned, they had a nice thing going with the boat, but it was just them. What would’ve happened the next time one of them died? They wouldn’t have been able to carry on, as is they were struggling. But was it better then this? Was he better separated from friends and hiding behind walls? He groaned, hating the mental dilemma. 

Then, he heard a voice. Specifically, Alistars voice yelling at something. It was coming from a small room just ahead. Bennie walked towards the sound, and poked his head into a small concrete room lit only by a candle in the corner. He narrowed his eyes and entered. The voice was louder in here, but he didn’t see anybody. Frowning, he almost left the room until he saw a small dark tunnel near the floor. The ground dipped down into it, and he stepped inside the small hole. As he walked down the tunnel, Alistars voice grew louder. Bennie grabbed the hilt of his knife from him belt, prepared to swing just incase. The tunnel started to grow brighter, and Bennie saw it opened up into a lit room. He shoved himself against the wall, hoping to stay out of sight, and peeked into the room.

What he saw, was something he never could’ve imagined.

There in the center of the room sat Gabe, the very person he had been looking for. However, the man was in a state Bennie never wanted to see again. A dull eye peered out of a sunken in socket, beady and cloudy, staring out without processing. His skin was a sickly pale color, dry and cracked in places, peeling in others. The sight of him made Bennie’s insides twist. What had happened to Gabe? When had this happened? Why was here?

His former friend seemed to be restrained, tied to an old chair by the arms and legs. The lower half face was obscured by what seemed to be an old dog muzzle. Bennie struggled to breath, bile rising in his throat as he noticed the mans lack of a hand on the right arm. Had he tried to cut the bite off and didn’t do it in time? Bennie’s thoughts were cut short by Alistar coming into view, and he ducked back into the tunnel. 

“What am I gonna do?” He heard Alistar mumble, “I can’t shoot you. I just can’t, I’m sorry. I know it’s what you wanted- and I know you can’t even fucking understand a word I’m saying anymore, but I can’t do it.” Bennie paused, frowning. Alistar’s voice sounded genuinely distraught. He didn’t want to interrupt what was going on, but at the same time having a zombie in the same place as Goopy scared him. Gabe or not, it needed to be shot and killed. 

He stepped into the lit room, and Alistar immediately raised his gun. Bennie sucked in a harsh breath, and said calmly, “Look, put down your gun. I’m not going to hurt you and I won’t tell anyone he’s down here.”

Slowly, the gun was lowered, but Bennie noticed Alistar still kept his finger on the trigger. He had to be careful about what he was saying and doing.

“How’d you find this place?”

“Just followed your voice.”

“You shouldn’t have been able to get this close, this whole area of the fort is closed off incase someone was to steal weapons or food.”

“Well, given there’s a horde coming, people are readying themselves instead of guarding places.”

“Sure. Well, get out of here. If you tell anyone he’s down here I’ll make sure you’re not found.”

“Calm down, calm down. I won’t tell, but I won’t leave either. I overheard you saying you can’t shoot him. If you want I can-“

“No-! No. Nobody is going to shoot him. I don’t want that.. I don’t want to lose him.”

“You already have. That’s not Gabe, that’s a monster that can break out of those bonds at any moment and kill this entire fort of people.”

“He won’t break out-“

Bennie narrowed his eyes, interrupting him. “How can you be sure of that?”

“I-“ He took a step forwards, holding his breath.

“Give me the gun Alistar, I can do it, it’ll be all right.” Bennie took another step, and then was face to face with the mussel of a pistol.

“No. You’re not shooting him, I’m not shooting him, and nobody will.” Alistar pressed the gun to his forehead, glaring down at him. “Now leave, before I shoot you and feed you to him.”

Bennie’s eyes widened and his heart pounded in his chest. “Okay, I’ll leave. Just put the gun down… I don’t want to be shot in the back.”

Alistar’s eyes narrowed, but slowly, ever so slowly, he put the gun down. As soon as the pistol was off him, Bennie sprinted out of the tunnel. They needed to get out of here, they definitely needed to get out. The fort was not safe anymore thanks to Alistar and the ticking time bomb he was keeping down that tunnel. He weaved through hallways and doors, eventually making his way back down to the sleeping quarters where Goopy laid. However much he wanted to grab his son and run, that wouldn’t be the best idea. Alistar would probably expect him to try and leave immediately. He needed to wait till the dead of night, and run then when everyone was asleep. Bennie laid down in the bed and wrapped his arms around Goopy, holding his son close. 

The minutes ticked by, and the world around him was deathly quiet. It was eerie in a way, almost like the calm before a storm. Once it seemed like everyone was asleep and all was calm he shook Goopy awake. Goopy sleepily opened his eyes, staring lazily at Bennie.

He held a finger to his sons lips, and whispered, “We’re leaving. Grab your things and follow me.” Goopy’s eyes widened and he nodded.

They slowly got out of the bed, Bennie’s hand in Goopy’s, careful not to make a sound. They couldn’t get caught, not if they wanted to live another day. He grabbed his backpack and gun. The bag seemed strangely heavy, but he didn’t have time to wonder what was wrong with it. It probably just seemed heavy because he was tired. Then, they carefully walked towards the gate of the camp. Suddenly, he heard the click of a gun and felt the cold metal of a pistol being pressed to his head.

“Hands up. Both of you.” Bennie slowly raised his hands, and glanced at Goopy to make sure the boy was doing the same. “What’re you two doing out so late?”

“We’re leaving.” Bennie said, keeping his voice steady as possible.

“You know there’s a horde approaching right?”

“Yes.” It was as if he could hear the suspicion crackling in the air, making his hair stand on edge and his hands shake. 

“Turn around slowly, and empty your pack.”

Bennie narrowed his eyes, frowning, but did as the man said. However, when he started to empty his backpack he found it stuffed with food and water, and all manner of supplies from the fort. “Wait- wait this wasn’t in here before-“

“A thief eh?” The man said, brown eyes drilling into him. “Haven’t had one of those in a while.” 

Goopy whimpered beside him, and his ached to comfort him. It would have to wait though, as right now they needed to get this guard off of them. “Look, I’ll just leave this here okay, just let me leave.”

“No can do. You’re a threat to everybody out there as much as ya are here. Now, walk where I tell and do what I say unless you want a bullet in the back of the head bub.” 

Slowly but surely, they made their way to an old jail cell lined with rusted iron bars. The man unlocked the gate, and shoved them inside. “Stay there and don’t make noise. We’ll decide what to do to ya when mornin’ comes.” 

As soon as the guard left Bennie pulled and shoved at the bars, hoping maybe they’d give out. To his avail, they stood strong and didn’t even budge. He clenches his fists, willing himself to keep it together. They had to get out of this.

Bennie looked around the cell, hoping maybe there was something they could use to get out. There was a small window, unboarded and facing the outside. However, it was too small for him to fit through. Goopy might be able to fit through it though. He grimaced, debating if he would be able to send his son out into zombie flooded lands alone. One glance over at him though immediately decided the choice.

Goopy was huddled in a corner, his face shoved in his knees and his whole body shaking. The poor kid was no doubt terrified out of his mind. Bennie knew he wouldn’t make it if he crawled out of the window. He walked over to his son and sat down. Then, he wrapped his arms around him, prying the child face from his knees.

“Hey look at me Goop, it’s gonna be alright. Don’t think I’m afraid for one second because this is just another pickle we’ll find our way out of.” Goopy wrapped his arms around Bennie, nuzzling his face in his chest and crying. Bennie’s heart could’ve broken in that moment, seeing his son terrified and sobbing. Then suddenly he was furious at himself for letting this happen. Why didn’t he listen to Sil and Latin when they had told him this place was off? All of this could’ve been avoided if he had just listened to them and left. No, he had to stick with his gut, with his delusion that the fort was safe.

He tightened his grip on Goopy, silently promising himself to keep him as safe as possible from now on. No matter the cost. After a few moments, Goopy let go and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Doing better Goopy?” He nodded, and Bennie smiled sadly. “Alright.”

Standing, he stared at the bars in front of him. Bennie had to at least try to break them down. Backing up to the back of the cell, he cringed, and ran forwards. The bars made a metallic ‘thwang’ as he hit them, and fell backwards on his ass. Groaning, he stood and rubbed his behind.

“Well, that didn't work-“

“What the hell?” Bennie heard a voice echo from outside and grinned. Jonah. 

“Hey! Hey! In here!” He yelled, sticking his arm out from the bars and waving it around. Then he saw Jonah walk into the room, fully dressed with a backpack on and a flashlight in his hand.

“Bennie? How- why are you in here?” He asked, raising a brow.

“I was trying to leave and I got searched, somehow someone stuffed a bunch of food I didn’t steal in my bag.” Bennie stepped back from the bars, and glanced over at Goopy. “Think you can get us out of here?”

“I-“ Jonah frowned and his eyes darted around the room. “Um- give me a second-“ 

“Hey-!” Then, Jonah was gone. He groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. No way he was coming back. Looking back at that window, he considered maybe now that Goopy was calm it would be fine. Then, Jonah came back into the room, his wife and kids in tow. Evalyn glanced at him, then leaned over to Jonah and whispered something. His eyes widened, and he nodded. 

“We heard you have a place to go that’s safe for the horde?” She said, prying eyes studying every inch of him. 

“Yes I do, why do you want to know?”

“We’re not staying here any longer. The disappearances are getting out of hand and we’re not going to stay sitting ducks. Your pack has food in it too?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is it now?”

“The guard who caught me should have it, brown hair, green eyes, about as tall as me.”

Evalyn reached for her gun, and Bennie immediately tensed. Then, she handed it to her eldest son. “You know what to do Dante. Just sneak up and put it to his head, no killing. If you have to then use the knife.” Dante nodded, and left the room.

“So you’re going to get me out?”

“Yes, on the condition you share your food with us and lead us to the safe place you have.”

“Fine by me. The keys to the cell are on that wall.”

She grabbed the keys off the wall and unlocked the cell, then Dante returned in a few moments with his bag. 

“We have to leave now.” He said, glancing back at the hallway, “He’ll probably run off and tell.”

“Alright then. Let’s go.”


	25. Zombie AU (Part 4)

It was a clear night when the snuck out of the fort, with a deep blue sky dusted by light above them. Luckily, it was a full moon so they had plenty of light to navigate the world around them with. He glanced around their surroundings, the family behind him, waiting for his lead.

“So?” Evalyn asked, “Where is it that we can stay?”

Bennie frowned and glanced around the streets. “They said they were going to be in the inn three blocks down from here. Any idea where that is?”

“Ah, yes. It’s about a two hour walk though, we will have to be careful of the horde.”

“Alright.”

With that, they got moving, slowly making their way through the city. Bennie could almost appreciate the old feel of the buildings and streets around him. No wonder it used to be such a tourist trap. The air was mild, the water clear, and the cities pretty. It was a shame he never got to see it before the apocalypse. 

Goopy held his hand the entire time they spend weaving through alleys and streets and he could practically feel the boys anxiety. Last time they had been in a big city he had lost an arm. He wrapped his arm around Goopy and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t you worry, things will be back to normal in no time. We’ll be back on the boat, and it’ll be safe. Maybe I’ll even teach you to fish like I said I would. But only if you promise not to drop another rod.” Bennie smiled, and laughed, thinking of the first time he had tried to teach Goop how to fish.

“Really? You’re gonna teach me to fish?” He gasped, looking up at Bennie.

“Absolutely. After all, you do need to know. Plus nothing would make me prouder then to see you catch something.”

“Oooo! Okay, I’ll catch something huge! All of us can eat it.”

“I’m sure we will.”

“Does that mean we’re gonna see Sil and Latin again?”

“Sure does-“ He was cut off by Jonah glancing back and putting a finger to his lips. They needed to be quiet. Goopy seemed to get the message too, his happy expression fading. Step by step, Jonah edged closer to the zombie in the road. Then, he grabbed it from behind and without hesitation drove a knife deep into its skull. Bennie let out a sigh of relief. 

“Is that the only one?” He whispered, glancing at Evalyn.

“Seems like it.” She responded. Her eyes were narrowed, scanning. “Stay quiet. Stay cautious. We don’t know if there’s any more. Dante, watch over your brother. Lila, stay with your father.”

They continued warily. Every dark alley haunted them. With monsters from the black lurking and waiting to devour their flesh. A shudder went up his spine. Bennie pulled Goopy a little bit closer, as the streets they walked through became more and more splattered and sprinkled with blood and corpses. They turned the corner, a his eyes widened with horror. A mass of zombies hobbled towards them, their rabid hollow eyes boring into his soul.

As soon as the creatures saw them, they broke out into a spirit. Their frail corpses raced towards them, a choir of screams and groans filling the air. They turned tail, sprinting away. Bennie chest burned as they ran, practically dragging Goopy along with him. Then, he spotted a building whose doors weren’t chained and boarded up. 

“Guys!” He yelled, motioning towards the tall structure. They nodded, and followed close behind into what looked like an old restaurant. Quickly, Jonah and Dante grabbed an old wooden table, and shoved it against the doors.

“That’s not gonna hold for long. What are we gonna do?” Dante said, glancing back at his mother.

She glanced around and frowned. “I don’t know… I think we’re trapped.”

Bennie felt Goopy’s grip on his hand tighten and he glanced to see fear in the boys eyes. “Let’s not assume that.” He piped up, “There was a second story to this building, we just gotta figure out a way up. From then on we can walk along the roofs until it’s safe to come down.”

“Walk along the roofs? That’s insane! One of the kids could slip!”

“It’s that or wait until those monsters break down the door. Your choice I guess.”

She frowned, glancing at her children and husband. “Alright. You search for a way up, I’ll make some food for everyone. We’re going to need our energy for this.”

Jonah nodded. “I’ll go with you Bennie… it’s not safe to go alone.”

“Sounds good.” He turned to Goopy, squatting to get to his eye level. “Now, you listen to me okay? Don’t leave Evalyn’s view alright? Stay here, eat some food, take a nap if you want, but DO NOT leave.”

“Is it safe with them…?” 

“Yes Goopy, I promise it’s very safe with them.”

“Okay…”

He ruffled his hair, and then walked off, looking for a exit. The old restaurant seemed to be an old Mexican place, with chili peppers dotting the decorations and bright colors painted everywhere. Bennie scanned the room, and realized quickly if there were stairs, they’d be in the back. So, he headed to back. When he stepped into the kitchen, he grimaced at the smell of rotting food. Seems like they’d been operating until the last hour, given as there was moldy chicken left in a pan and half washed dishes still in the sink. It was eerie in a way, to see everything scattered and abandoned. A place likely once so lively brought to darkness and dust. 

Looking around the kitchen, he saw a door that lead to storage. They headed inside, and the room was near pitch black. Bennie was ready to give up, when suddenly, Jonah called out for him. “Hey! Bennie, I think I found something. It’s locked though. Maybe we can break down the door?”

He nodded and walked over to Jonah. “Hopefully this will lead to a stairwell and not a zombie horde. On the count of three?” 

“Okay.” Jonah backed up slowly with Bennie.

“One...Two...Three!” On the count of three they slammed into the door with all of their weight. With a loud slam, it came down, revealing a stairway to the second floor. Bennie grinned and high fives Jonah, then headed back to the group.

“Hey, we found a staircase.” Jonah said as they entered the main room, and sat next to his wife. “Do we want to go now?”

Suddenly, there was a give to the door. Bennie’s eyes widened, and he scrambled over. Shoving the large table back against the door, he frowned. “I don’t think we have a choice. Let’s go now, before the doors won’t hold them.” 

“Oh. Okay yeah, let’s go.”

Bennie races from the door and grabbed Goopys hand, then ran. They went up into the staircase, then up on the roof. 

“Ok, look I’ve done this before and don’t be scared. The gap between buildings is never as big as it seems.” He glanced at the building nearest to them and backed up to the other edge. Then, he sprinted forwards, and leapt. Bennie easily cleared the gap between the buildings and landed on his feet with a slight skid. Adrenaline coursed through him and he almost had to fight off a smile. It had been a long time since he had done that. “See? Not that hard. Goop, think you can jump?” 

His son edged towards the side of the building and eyed the gap, “Can I?”

Bennie nodded, “Yes, you can. Just run up, jump, and aim for me okay?”

Goopy nodded and backed up to the side of the building. Bennie’s heart picked up, his stomach dropping. Please let this turn out alright. He leapt over the gap, and landed on the pavement of the roof. He grinned as Goopy tumbled into his arms.

“Not that hard right?” He said, admiring Goopy’s grin.

“That was awesome Dad! Can I do it again? Can I?”

“I’m sure you’ll get another chance, but most of these buildings are close enough we won’t have to jump.”

“Okay…”

Bennie glanced across the gap, looking at the family still stood on the other building. “Come on guys. Jonah first so he can help me if we need to help someone up.”

The man stared at the gap, his body shaking, then looked back up at Bennie. He took a long breath, shut his eyes, and ran. Jonah flew across the drop and landed hard on his side. Letting go of Goopys hand, Bennie went to help him up. 

“You alright?” 

Jonah stood weakly, and nodded. “Y-yeah. Lila sweetie you want to go next?” The little girl across the gap nodded, grinning. “Alright then, be careful.”

Bennie walked up towards the edge, ready to catch her if she didn’t make it all the way. She backed up, ran, and jumped. Lila landed on her butt, however, she made it. Dante and Julian were up next. They both landed on the other side with ease, Julian even landing on his feet. Bennie had a sneaking suspicion he had some experience doing things like this. Then, zombies burst through the door to the roof. Evalyn glanced backwards at the monsters, now trapped between a drop and them. Not only that, she could no longer back up to the other side of the roof. As she ran up to make the jump, the knot in his stomach tightened. She wasn’t going to make it. 

He covered Goopy’s eyes as Evalyn plummeted, hand brushing their roof but unable to grab hold. Then there was a sick scream, cut off by a sudden thump. It was silent, and Bennie prayed she may have died on impact. However, whatever god there was, wasn’t listening. Wails rose from the alley, and when Bennie glanced down he saw the damage done. Evalyn’s legs were twisted at an uncomfortable angle, and blood seeped out onto the floor. Zombies attracted by her screams wandered into the alley, and any hope of rescuing her disintegrated. 

Jonah fell to his knees, staring down into the horde now devouring his wife. His face seemed blank with horror, tears dripping down his face. 

“Dad, what happened? Why were there screams?”

He cringed and peeled his hand from Goopy’s face, turning him away from the drop. “Goopy… Goopy I need you to be quiet right now okay? Go um, go sit down over there.” He pointed to a small wall, and Goopy frowned, but complied.

Then, he walked over to Jonah, crouching down next to him. “I know you want to grieve but, but we can’t right now okay? We don’t know if this is place safe, we need to get going before the horde gets worse.” Jonah was silent, unresponsively staring down. “Please, we need to-“ 

He was interrupted by Dante coming up to him, and putting a hand on his shoulder. Bennie stood, looking at the teenager. “I’ll take care of my dad, Thank you for trying…”

Bennie nodded, stepping back. Then, Lila and Julian rushed past him, and hugged their father. Glancing back at Goopy, he was thankful to see he had sat in a corner like Bennie asked. He walked over and sat down.

“Dad, did Evalyn die just now?” Goopy asked, looking up at him.

“I-“ Bennie paused, frowning. “Yes Goopy, she did.”

“So she’s not coming back? Not like how Sil and Latin are coming back?”

“That’s right…”

“Dad.. will you ever leave and not come back?”

He paused, his heart aching. God, how he wished he could lie, could tell Goopy he’d never die. But he couldn’t say that, now could he? Nobody was promised survival here. He could get bit, he could fall, get shot, all manner of things. After a moment, he finally spoke up, wrapping Goopy in his arms. “No. I can’t promise I won’t die.”

“Why would you leave me though! You wouldn’t be mean and leave!”

“People don’t die because they want to Goopy. Something happens and they don’t have a choice but to leave.”

“Will I ever die?”

He didn’t answer, couldn’t force himself to. Bennie didn’t even want to face the concept of Goopy dying. Goopy was his everything, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he lost his son. He just held Goopy closer, for once, he seemed to get the message.

Sil was enjoying lazing around the hotel room, old books and board games they had managed to find in the other rooms strewn around. Turns out you should never play connect four with Latin, they were a very sore loser. It was nice to get away from running and worrying about food for once. However, he still worried for Goopy and Bennie. Were they safe in that fort? Happier without the burden he places on everyone? He sighed, sitting up from the couch he laid on. 

“Hey Latin, how much food do we have left-“ Sil was cut off by a sudden knock on the door. Jumping in surprise at the sudden noise, he scrambled off the couch and to the door. Bennie had decided to come back to them, he grinned, and opened the door. 

What he saw was a solemn sight. Bennie and Goopy stood in the front, a frown carved into the older mans face. Behind them stood the family that had helped them with the beds at the beginning. His eyes widened and he opened the door for them to come in.

“You brought others Bennie?” He pulled Bennie aside once they were all in, and whispered to him.

“Yeah. They helped me and Goopy out a lot, I had to.” Bennie said, glancing over at them.

“I’m not comfortable with them staying here, we barely know them they’re strangers.” 

“Trust me, they’re not going to hurt anyone. I might not know them too well but trust me on this.”

Sil sighed, and shook his head. “Fine. Latin isn’t gonna like this though-“

Right on time, Latin walked into the room. “Hooooly shit the fuck? When did all these people get in here?”

“Bennie brought them.”

They gasped, grinning. “Bennie’s back?” They noticed Bennie standing in the room and sprinted towards him. Tackling him to the ground, Latin practically broke Bennie with a hug. 

“oh my god..” Bennie wheezed, hugging Latin back. “your love hurts.”

They stood, helping Bennie up with them. “Glad to have you back Bennie. Why’d you bring them with you though?”

Julian piped up, angrily glaring at Latin. “We’re right here you know.”

“Oh I know. Wasn’t there one more of you?”

Cringing, Dante said quietly, “Our mother Evelyn died on the way here.”

Sil froze, grimacing. That changed things. They couldn’t just leave this grieving family to fend for themselves. Especially not if they had lost someone trying to get here. He sighed and reluctantly said, “I’m sorry for your loss. You guys can stay here till the horde blows over but I don’t think we have enough food for after that. Then, we’ll decide what we can do.”

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, he felt something tug at his arm. He looked down to see Goopy. A smile painted his face, glad to see the small child again.

“Goopy!” 

“Sil!”

“Goopy!”

“Sil!!!”

“Latin.” They interrupted, picking up Goopy. 

“You did that wrong,” Goopy whined, smiling. “You gotta say someone else’s name you can’t say your own!”

“Okay uhhh… Bennie!”

Bennie’s head shot up from his bag and he asked. “What- what’s going on? I was unpacking my bag.” Latin snickered as Bennie raised a brow, confused. 

“Nothing, nothing don’t worry about it.”

“I’m suspicious.” 

“Don’t be, go back to unpacking.” With narrowed eyes, Bennie looked back down, rummaging through his things.

The day passed by quickly, they found an empty room for the other family to stay in, and discussed the food arrangement. They would all share what they had and when the horde passed through, if they stayed they’d go scavenge. At the end of the night they all piled into king bed with each other, falling fast asleep after their fun.

Bennie awoke late in the afternoon, squished in between Sil and Latin. With a yawn, he got out of bed, careful to not wake the others. He stood on sore, wobbly legs, and winced. You’d think he’d be used to walking so much in a day. Though, last nights events probably contributed to the pain. He slipped on his clothes and went to go check on Goopy. 

Goopy was still fast asleep on the pull out couch in the living room. Bennie smiled, it was nice to see everything so peaceful for once. Now he, Sil, and Latin would just have to discuss if they were going back to the boat or staying in the city. Honestly, he almost preferred to stay in the city. Here, Goopy wasn’t cooped up and they could find food everywhere. Then, he thought about Evelyn. Someone completely strong, able, and smart taken away in the snap of a fingers. Just by bad timing and luck. He groaned, running a hand through his hair. Why did every decision have to be so hard?

Suddenly, arms wrapped around him from behind and a mouth was pressed to his neck. He shuddered, and melted into the embrace.

“Hey there Latin.” He said glancing backwards and placing a small kiss on their lips. “Did you have to get a stepping stool for that?” 

“Rude, I’m not that short.” They paused, stepping off of the stool. 

“Yet you had to use a stool.” Bennie smiled, “Is Sil awake yet?”

“Yup, you woke us both up when you left you little shit.”

“That’s the exact opposite of what I wanted.” 

Latin rolled their eyes, “What did you think was gonna happen? You can’t just leave two little spoons without their fuckin ladle.”

He chuckled, noticing Goopy stirring. “Go get some clothes on, Goop is waking up.”

“Alright alright, why don’t you bring him over to the kitchen we’re all going to sit down and eat together I guess.”

“You guess?”

“It’s Sil’s idea, I’m just gonna go with it. Food is food.”

“Alright.” With that, Latin walked out of the room. Bennie went over to Goopy’s bed and gently shook him awake.

“Morning Goop.”

Goopy blearily opened his eyes and sat up, “Hi Dad.” He yawned, stretching. 

“Come on and get up alright, there’s breakfast ready.”

His eyes lit up and he shot up from bed, “Do we have salmon this time??”

“No, no, we’re not on the boat Goopy we don’t have any fish.”

“Then what’s for breakfast?” 

“Probably beans, maybe canned fruit if we’re lucky.” Goopy groaned, and grabbed Bennie’s hand.

“Will we get fish again soon?”

“Maybe… now come on, let go.” They walked over to the rooms small sitting area, and sat in some of the bar chairs.

Sil walked up and put a plate of what seemed to be pears and and little sausages in front of them. 

“It’s an odd combo, I know.” He laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “But whoever hid out here before us really liked those sausages because there are cans upon cans of it.”

Latin walked up, and sat in the seat beside him. Sil passed them a plate and they grinned. “Well, I ain’t complaining. It tastes good.” They dug into the food with a fork and knife, quickly clearing their plate. 

Bennie smiled, and started eating, enjoying the change from beans and fish they had on the boat. It took a moment for Goopy to start eating, as he stared warily at the sausage. But, once he took a bite he quickly devoured the rest. 

“This is nice,” Bennie said, smiling. “We haven’t all sat down and ate with each other since-“ He cut himself off, noticing the look on Sil’s face. What an idiot he was, bringing up Morgan. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

“It’s- it’s alright.” Sil took a shaky breath, staring down at the ground. “It’s been a month since it happened, we should… we should be able to talk about it freely now. It just hurts, is all.” Tears welled in his eyes, and Sil quickly wiped them away, hiccuping. 

Bennie stood, wrapping his arms around Sil. “I know. It hurts all of us that he’s gone.” 

He felt Latin join the hug, and then Goopy. Next thing you know, they were all in a big group hug. After a few moments, they all let go. Sil was smiling sadly, “At least I’ve still got you guys.”

Bennie sat back down, and said, “Alright, we do need to talk about something though. Are we going to go back to the boat?”

“Well, I don’t see why we shouldn’t.” Latin said, glancing over to him.

“And if we do will we take the food we have here?”

“Well duh-“

“What about the other family then? We just leave them with no food and water?”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. That and what happens if something goes wrong and I can’t man the ship? Neither of you know how do steer and drive it. You wouldn’t be able to dock anywhere, since Sil can’t pull up the anchor and you only have one arm Latin. What if there’s a hurricane, or a storm? If we can’t get fish?”

“Bennie stop you’re being paranoid. We can figure things out, we always do.”

“I’m not being paranoid Latin, I’m being careful. I saw two people die in the span of a week. A week! All for simple dumb unpredictable things! Any of us could kick it at any moment and then the other two would be stuck up a creek without a paddle.”

“Bennie!” Sil shouted, eyes narrowed. It was then he noticed Goopy’s upset face and the tears welling in his eyes. He’d likely never seen Bennie get angry or yell before.

“Goop-“ His eyes widened and he ran off back to the living room. Bennie groaned and rested his head on the table. “I’m just trying to account for everything. I don’t want anything bad to happen to Goopy…”

Sil sighed, “We get it Bennie, but being paranoid about everything won't get us anywhere. I say we go back on the boat. We had a good thing going before, we can keep that up. Plus, to quell some of your worries I guess you can teach us how to steer the ship. Doubt I’ll be good at that though.”

Latin nodded, “I agree with Sil. We know the boat, the boat is safe.”

“Alright, then when the horde blows over we get gas and leave.”

They told the other family of their plan, and decided to leave what was left of the foods with them. After all, once they were out to sea they could always fish. So, after the horde was gone they packed their bags and set out. 

Goopy held his hand as always, and they headed to a gas station to siphon off some gas. It was a small distance from the hotel, and they managed to get there with nothing bad happening. 

The gas station was an old run-down place, likely disgusting even before the apocalypse. Sil and Goopy were inside the store, looking for any water and food they could grab. Meanwhile, Bennie and Latin were outside, siphoning gas from the pumps. Goopy ran up to him, carrying bags of jerky with a grin. 

“Sil, are these good?” The child asked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. “I had them once before they’re really really good!” 

Sil chuckled, and grabbed a bag from Goopy. “Remember, keep it down.” He turned the bag over, glancing at its shelf life. Only a few months over the date. “Yeah, they’re good, put them in your bag.”

Goopy grinned and shoved the several bags of jerky into his pack, then ran off to continue looking. Sil rummaged through the shelves, occasionally finding a bag of chips or two. Then, the door to the store was slammed open, and chaos ensued. Bennie and Latin ran in yelling, then Bennie grabbed a shelving unit and shoved it against the door. Sil’s eyes widened and he rushed over to them. 

“What’s going on?”

“There’s a group of about 20 or so zombies rushing towards us.” Bennie said, hunched over and gasping. “I don’t know what to do, this place is mostly glass-“

As if on cue there was the sound of a window shattering, and Latin quickly took out the zombie with a shot to the head. “I’ve only got three bullets left in this sucker Bennie!” They called out, glancing over at them.

Sil reached for his pistol, and took a peek at what he had left. “A full six bullets here.” He tossed the gun to Latin. “You take it, I’m shit with shooting!” They nodded, and holstered the gun, ready to use it if needed. 

Bennie frowned, looking at what he had. “I’ve only got three as well. Guess I better make them count.”

“I’ll just use my knife if any get close enough.” Sil said, drawing the blade. A few more zombies grew closer, and were shot down by Latin and Bennie. Sil snuck up on one, slowly walking towards it, and shoved his knife deep into its skull. More rushed in, and Sil was caught up in a commotion of slashing and shooting. After what seemed like forever, they had cleared all the zombies out. Sil slouched down against a back wall, wheezing from the pain of exertion. 

“Are you good?” Latin asked, glancing down at him. 

“Yeah…” he mumbled, “Just see if you can spot some painkillers somewhere?” They nodded and walked off to go check behind the counter.

Bennie glanced around the demolished shop, eyes darting everywhere. Where was Goopy? The more he searched, the more lightheaded and clammy he was. Where was Goopy? He ran to the back corners of the store, checking every place he could think of. Where was his son-? Bennie felt a tug at his arm, and the pressure in his chest faded. 

“Goopy, there you are. I was so worried! Are you okay?” He asked, squatting down.

“I’m good Dad, just scared. I did what you told me to do if stuff happens though! I found someplace to hide, riiiiight under the big desk!” 

Bennie smiled, and ruffled Goopy’s hair. “That’s my boy. Good job, thank you for staying safe.” He turned over to Latin and Sil. His eyes widened as he saw Sil hunched over against a wall. Bennie rushed over, worry washing over him.

“Sil, are you okay?” 

Sil weakly shook his head no and said, “I feel nauseous and- and everything hurts so much-“ His breathing was raspy and he panted between words. “It feels like a heart attack.” 

“What do you want me to get you? Is there anything that could help?” Bennie asked, frantically glancing around the store.

“Something to help me breath,” He wheezed, “And maybe painkillers- you- you won’t find heart medicine here..”

Nodding, he ran over to the counter to try and find something. Then, he bumped into Latin, who was carrying some medicine. “Did you see an asthma inhaler back there?” They nodded, and rushed back over to Sil. He frantically dug through the medicines and found an inhaler, then ran back to Sil and gave it to him. 

It took thirty minutes or so, but Sil was somewhat back to normal. They stayed with him the entire time, holding him and praying he would be okay. There was no way to know what the real damage was but for now, Sil was okay. Bennie kisses Sil’s cheek in relief, and the man rested on his shoulder. They could afford to sit here for a little while longer and let Sil recover more.

Suddenly, there was a scream that ripped all of the happiness from Bennie in a split second. He shot up, and ran towards the noise, his heart thumping wildly. Once he found the source, he stopped dead in his tracks. Goopy, with a zombie latched to his arm. Red hot fury rammed into him as he kicked its and grabbed his knife from his side. He rammed the blade into the zombies skull over, and over, and over until it wasn’t even recognizable as a person anymore. Blood coated his arms and chest, and was splattered across the room. His chest heaved with the effort, and he struggled to catch his breath.

Then, he saw Goopy. His face was contorted with pain, tears welling in his eyes. Goopy clutched the bite, his whole body shaking. Bennie stared in horror at what had happened. Why hadn’t he been watching Goopy? How could he have let this happen? He wanted to scream, to rip into something until the burning feeling at the base of his neck went away. Bennie wrapped Goopy in his arms, sobs ripping through his body. What were they going to do? 

For a moment, he considered taking off Goopy’s arm before the bite could spread. That would be a fate worse then death though, to be stuck in their cruel world without any arms. Goopy was going to die. He struggled to breath, tears soaking Goopy’s shirt. Goopy has been bit, and was going to die.

Sil and Latin found out afterwards, and Bennie wordlessly showed them the bite. Their eyes widened, and they held Goopy and him. All crying.

However, Goopy didn’t understand.

Bennie didn’t have the heart to tell him. He said, they were all very worried about him and sad he got hurt is all. It felt like there was a spike rammed through his chest, and everytime he glanced at his child, it got driven in a bit deeper.

They went to the boat, and Bennie knew by the end of the day Goopy wasn’t going to last until morning. 

He was so- so small. It didn’t take long for his skin to grow pale, his skin growing feverish, and body sluggish. Bennie held Goopy in his lap, the boy shivering and groaning. His eyes peeled open, and he looked at Bennie.

“Dad,” He said, smiling despite the pain, “Don’t be sad about me getting hurt. I’ll be better in no time-“ Goopy coughed, and blood stained his hands. Bennie ran his hands through the boys hair, holding him closer.

“Shhhh, Goopy. Don’t talk okay? You’re sick. Just close your eyes and sleep, you’ll be better in the morning.” He said, trying so hard to keep face, to not let the tears that pricked beneath his eyes dribble down. 

“Can you teach me how to fish tomorrow Dad?” Goopy asked, shutting his eyes and curling in towards Bennie. 

He had to hold back a sob, and willed his voice not to shake. “Yeah Goopy, I sure will. We might even catch a salmon for you.”

The edges of Goopy’s mouth twitched upwards, and he smiled. “I can’t wait, Dad.” He paused, taking a raspy breath. “Goodnight, I love you.”

“I love you too Goop.” Bennie ran his hands through Goopy’s hair. Watching as ever so slowly, Goopy’s breathing slowed and then stopped. 

Tears slid down his face, his chest aching with sorrow. Goopy was gone. He’d never see him sons smile again, never have to explain something to him again, never got to take him fishing, never even got to see him safe and happy. He sucked in a deep breath, and set Goopy down on his bed. Then, with shaky hands, he took his gun and aimed. At least he’d die painlessly, deep asleep. Bennie pulled the trigger.

The bang of the gun ripped through the air, and echoed in his ears. Then, he took a deep breath, and aimed the gun right between his eyes.

He didn’t want to leave Sil and Latin, but he couldn’t live without Goopy. Goopy was why he kept going, why he hadn’t given up when the world went to shit. Now, Goopy was dead. 

He’d prefer it if he was too.

Bennie pulled the trigger.

The world went black.


	26. Gabe Torture

Gabe woke to darkness, and when he tried to move, he found that his hands and legs were bound. He frowned, glancing around the darkness for any clue as to where he was. Last thing he remembered, he was enjoying the night with a pretty little white haired boy in a hotel room. Now he was here. Was it a trap? He had noticed the man staring at his drink once or twice, maybe he had been drugged. But if he had been drugged he wouldn’t have made it all the way through their fuck. At least, he didn’t think he would’ve. 

He struggled against the binds that held him. They were probably rope, given the rough nature. If he was lucky it was weak and Gabe could break it. However, as he tugged it seemed to hold tight. He sighed and gave up trying to snap it. Raking his brain, he tried to think of who could have grabbed him, and why they would. The white haired man he slept with was probably in on it, so that was one clue.

He was probably a cultist, given the scars, the eye, and the hair. In fact, Gabe slept with him for the fact he was a cultist to be honest. A big middle finger to Alistar is what it was supposed to be. Turns out Alistar was serious when he told Gabe they’re extremely dangerous and should be incapacitated as soon as he saw one. Though, turns out they’re a really good fuck too. Welp, he guessed sex was a good tradeoff to being sacrificially killed for cult worship. 

Suddenly, the room was dimly lit by a door in front of him being cracked open. Two figures stood in the doorway, one tall and broad, the other short and plump. The lights flicked on and Gabe was able to make out the details on the figures. The tall one had dark skin, and intense eyes that flared at him from the door. The short one was a plump young woman with bright red hair and a missing arm. His eyes narrowed. Gabe had seen these two before, they were part of the four people that had broken Bennie out.

Then, the pieces connected in his mind. Bennie wanted revenge for his torture and sent his crew after Gabe.

“So.” The short one said, glancing to the larger man, “This is Morgan Jo Constable, I’m sure you’ve heard of him yeah? The former slave that went around ripping out folks tongues out of revenge for what happened to him?” Oh, he knew, infact he had been unlucky enough to hear several of Alistars rants after a rich supporter or two got knocked off of the board by Constable. “He’s very eye for an eye yknow, and well we both care about Bennie very much. So, let’s make this easy and you tell us what we want to know. Otherwise I let Morgan inflict whatever horrific revenge he’s had imagined for weeks.”

They were going to torture him then. Ironic how what comes around goes around. “I’m not gonna tell you shit.” He growled, spitting at them. 

“Well, more fun for us then.” They smiled a slight bit, as Morgan approached. The man rolled his shoulder back for a moment, then swung at him. He cringed as the fist made contact and pain blossomed along his jaw. The chair he was in tilted and clattered to the ground, his head smacking against the wood. Groaning, Gabe clamped his eyes shut and felt the chair tilted back upright. His jaw throbbed with pain and he took a deep breath. A hit like that sent him reeling. Eventually, he peeled open his eyes to see that furious glare trained on him. 

“Now that you know we’re serious about this, you wanna change your mind?” They said, raising a brow. 

“Once again, I’m not spilling anything. I’m not like your little bitch of a captain, I’m going to stay tight lipped no matter what you do to me, so give it up now.” Almost immediately after he said that a fist was jammed into his stomach. He doubled over, wheezing at the impact.

“Who do you work for?” Breathing heavily, Gabe looked back up at Morgan and met his gaze. He said nothing.

Morgan’s gray eyes narrowed, and he Gabe’s arm. He clenched his jaw in anticipation, waiting for another blow. Instead sharp pain shot up his arm and he bit back a scream. His arm was bent behind him, forced in a way it was never meant to go. Gabe could tell if much more pressure was put on it, it would break. Grimacing, he figured he’d have to give up the information if he wanted to keep his arm intact. He’d need it if there was any hope of escape. 

“Alistar Avidite.” He spat out, the wrenching pain of his arm making him squirm a bit in his chair. 

Morgan let go of his arm, and he sighed in relief. “Alistar Avidite? Is that a noble?”

Gabe narrowed his eyes and stayed silent. Morgan reached once again for his arm and he flinched back. The small redhead sighed and shook her head, “That’s enough Morgan, remember, Bennie wants us hurting him as little as possible. Let’s just see what we can do with a name for right now.” They paused, eyes glancing over to him, “Don’t think that means we're done here.”

Gabe clenched the handles of his chair and watched as they left the room. He was in deep shit this time.


	27. Cute Benzo and Deadnise

“Bennie-“ she whined, holding the swaying man up, “How the hell did you manage to get this far up my wall?”

 

“Well- I put one hand up and then my feet and then my other hand and then-“

 

“Alright- Alright yeah I get the idea.” Huffing, Denise rolled her eyes and sat Bennie down at the corner of her bed. He flopped backwards with a shit eating grin and pet her covers.

 

“Your bed is so soft. I love your bed. Can I marry your bed?” Bennie mumbled, flipping over to better pet the sheets.

 

She sat down next to him and stretched her leg. Supporting his weight without her cane had been a challenge, and her foot ached a bit from the strain. It wasn’t anything bad, just annoying. Glancing over to Bennie, Denise scoffed, “And here I was hoping you’d marry me.” 

 

Bennie shot up, his arms flailing in the air before wrapping around her hips. He leaned on her side, looking slightly stunned. “Man, I hadn’t even _considered_ marrying you!” She faltered at massaging her foot, and frowned.

 

“Really?” Denise knew she shouldn’t feel hurt by it, she was supposed to be using this guy. Yet, somehow it stung a little. 

 

“You’re so pretty and nice…” He grabbed one of her hands and ran his thumb across it, “and soft… I can’t marry someone as great as you! I’m suuuper grooooss.” Drawing out the last words he giggled and pet her hand some more. “You have nice green eyes, and pretty wavy hair and perfect everything!” 

 

She shook her head and shushed him, “Careful. Just cause we’re awake doesn’t mean other people are.” Pausing, Denise stared at Bennie as he tilted over, his head resting in her lap now. Almost out of habit, she ran her hands through his hair. Slowly and methodically her fingers untangled his hair. Bennie smiled, closing his eyes. Denise took a moment to study him. “I don’t know Bennie,” She hummed, “You’re awful nice and handsome yourself.”

 

“Pretty.” He muttered, one eye flicking open. “I said pretty.” 

 

“Fine, you’re nice and pretty too. In your own way. Your eyes are so blue, sometimes I think they’re fake. When we actually manage to wash it your hair is soft and fluffy, and your stubble tickles my chin when we kiss. That’s all perfect too.” She smiled, then faltered. Bennie was just a pawn- that’s all he was. All he was _supposed_ to be. Denise couldn’t be talking like this, wasn’t supposed to be feeling like this. Yet, when she looked down at Bennie’s face in her lap she felt warm. She wanted to hold him close, to kiss him, to never leave him. It scared her.

 

Denise pulled her hand back from his hair, frowning. Bennie’s eyes opened, and he stared up at her. “Heeeey, why’d you stop?”

 

Quickly shaking off her thoughts, she yawned. “No- no reason. My hand was just getting tired is all.” Denise glanced up to the clock sitting on her nightstand. God, it was almost 12. She couldn’t just let Bennie crawl back down her house drunk and half asleep so she supposed he was going to stay the night. “Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

 

He sleepily nodded and stripped off his shoes and coat, then slipped under her covers. Denise followed suit, crawling under the sheets. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Resting his chin on her head he mumbled out a short, “I love you.”

 

When she said it back, she wasn’t so sure she was lying this time.

 


	28. Gabe n Alistar do funky smooch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> look,,,,,look,,,, I ain’t never writing any damn shit like this again. It’s not happening. Ever. 
> 
> I have to eat dinner and look my parents in the eye now knowing what I’ve written. 
> 
> Never again.

Gabe wasn’t worried when Alistar took some medicine for a bad cough. I mean, who would be? These things happened all the time, everyone gets a little sick. He was prepared to deal with an Alistar that was a little off today, given most medicines made folks loopy. However, what he wasn’t prepared for was loopy meaning practically clinging to Gabe the entire day.

Maybe, just maybe, it would’ve been okay if it was an innocent clinging to Gabe. Overly affectionate, and gushing Gabe could handle. What Gabe could not handle was Alistar grabbing his ass every damn chance the man had. 

Currently, Alistar was leaning on him, his hand drifting precarious close to his butt as they walked. Gabe picked up their pace until they made their way to his office. Once the door was shut, he pushed Alistar off him and debated what to do. On one hand, Alistar was definitely not fit to be out and about. The man swayed with his steps and had to lean on Gabe near the entire time. That alongside the fact he couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself. But, on the other hand Alistar had an important meeting today. Important enough Gabe had to stand outside the door because he wasn’t allowed to hear what they were discussing. 

Before he could think about it much more, suddenly Alistar was pressed against him. Gabe sucked in a shaky breath, it taking all the self control he had to look at Alistar and not wipe the stupid grin off his bosses face. 

“Sir-“ He said, placing his hands on Alistar’s shoulders and forcefully making him take two steps back. “We can’t do this right now.”

He pouted, wrapping his arms around Gabe’s neck before he could stop him. “Why not?” Alistar drawled, tilting his head a little bit. 

Gabe lowered his arms, reaching up to move Alistar’s arms from his neck. Soon as he moved them though, Alistar slid his hands down to his hips and leaned back against him, this time not even leaving a hair's breadth between them. Then, Alistar grinded against him, his hot breath brushing up against his neck. 

That was it. Gabe wasn’t going to deal with this shut anymore, he wanted to fuck Alistar, therefore he was going to. Simple as that. He grabbed Alistar’s chin and forced the man to look at him, then jammed his lips into the others. Alistar smiled against his face then leaned into the kiss, his tongue slipping into Gabe’s mouth. 

His hands slid down to Alistar’s waist, and he walked forwards until they were leaning against the desk. Growing bored with exploring Alistar’s mouth, Gabe broke off from his face and started kissing at his neck. As he bit and sucked at Alistar’s neck he moaned and squirmed against Gabe. He grinned, smug that he was able to get moans out of him so easily.

Then, Gabe felt something very intentionally brush up against his length. He groaned, and leaned into the touch, his breath growing shallow. Alistar lowered to his knees, mouth now level with the bulge he was palming in Gabe’s pants. 

As Alistar started to unbuckle his pants Gabe started to have second thoughts. After all, Alistar was technically drugged right now, and wasn’t at all in the right state of mind. It wouldn’t be right to let him suck Gabe off, hell, going far as they did anyways was pretty fucked up. 

Gritting his teeth, he pulled away from Alistar. Soon as he looked down at his boss he was glad he did. The man looked totally out of it, eyes hazy with lust and a small bit of drool from the kiss still at the corner of his mouth. Alistar stared back up at him, questioning why he had pulled back.

“I don’t want this right now,” He said sternly, almost more to himself then to Alistar. Gabe held out a hand to help his boss up.

“But-“ Alistar started, glancing down at Gabe’s pants.

Gabe shook his head, “Nope. Don’t care what my dick says, I ain’t screwing you until you’re right in the head.” Alistar stood, and Gabe took his hand. “Come on, you’re gonna sleep this shit off.”


	29. Sil is a dumbass

In hindsight, Leroy really should’ve thought twice about letting Sil have that last drink. Sil had always been a lightweight, tipsy at the first drink and wasted at the fourth, but he had figured it would be fine. They were celebrating after all, and getting a little happy should’ve been no problem! Booking passage on a ship to the other continent was something to celebrate after all.

However, it seemed that Sil had other plans. The fight started innocently enough, with some jesting from a man about Sil’s appearance. Wasn’t the first time it had happened, and certainly wouldn’t be the last. Sil got up in arms about the comment, snarling and yelling at the man. Then, fists flew. The man, who Leroy now saw was tall and tan with ratty brown hair threw the first punch. Of course, Sil reciprocated.

Leroy watched in abject horror as Sil was grabbed by the collar and flung from his chair. With a hard thud, he landed on the floor a few feet from them.

Then, Leroy tried to interject, “Guys- Guys let’s just calm down, me and my friend will be going-“ The man shoved him backwards and Leroy cringed as he was slammed against the bar.

Sil scrambled up, tackling the brown haired man and trying to wrap his arm around the throat. With ease, he was shaken off and once again on the floor. The man loomed over Sil for a moment before swinging his leg and starting to beat Sil. 

Leroy’s eyes widened, and he ignored the ache in his side as he rammed into their attacker. He crouched at Sil’s side, his gut tied in a knot. But before Leroy could even ask if Sil was okay he had stood and was now brandishing a knife. 

He stumbled backwards as Sil ran forwards past him and swung at the man. His face contorted in pain as the knife ripped through flesh and his hands clutched at the wound. Anger flashed in the mans eyes as drew his own dagger and plunged it deep into Sil’s gut. Then with a wheeze, he collapsed onto a chair, the pain getting to him. 

Terror raced through him and he sprinted towards Sil. Of course, of course the idiot had to go and get himself stabbed. Leroy sucked in a deep breath and willed himself to stop shaking as he looked at the stab wound. He was no doctor, but it looked really bad. Panicked, he strained to pick Sil up. One of the other patrons noticed his struggle and helped him lift Sil up onto a table. 

“Keep pressure on that, and don’t pull the knife out.” The patron said, then darted over to their attacker and seemingly telling someone something. He disappeared into the back of the bar, and came back out with rags, a needle, and some thread. Leroy was shoved away from the chaos, forced to trust strangers with Sil’s life. Time seemed to crawl as he watched the patron, who he later found out was a local doctor, tear the weapon from flesh and stitch the wound up. 

Finally, after what seemed like hours the chaos died down and Leroy was let back at Sil’s side. He knew he should be happy, relieved even, that Sil didn’t die. However, all he felt when he saw Sil was pure fury. Sil had been a fucking idiot! What was he thinking pulling a knife, hell what was he even thinking starting the damn fight in the first place! 

Leroy sighed, and grabbed Sil. Supporting his weight on one shoulder, Leroy practically dragged Sil out of the bar and back to their inn.

Sil awoke the next morning, groaning with pain. Immediately, Leroy rushes to his side with some water and food. His boyfriend got up slowly, grimacing.

“What even happened?” Sil said between bites of food.

He didn’t even remember? Leroy clenched his fist and grit his teeth, restraining from slapping Sil. “Well, someone got wasted off of their damn ass and got in a fight.” 

Sighing, Sil shook his head, “Did I win the fight?”

“Sure you did. If winning means getting stabbed in the fucking stomach and nearly dying!” He noticed Sil flinch as Leroy raised his voice, and shakily steadied his breath. “You’re lucky you’re alive. Apparently the guy who you got in a fight with was a repeat offender and they kept medical supplies there just in case he starts something. That, and there was a doctor at the bar last night. Do you know how ridiculously lucky that fucking is Sil?”

“Well it’s not like I could tell you the odds of it but-“

“Don’t you get snarky with me, now is not the time. You could’ve died Sil.”

“I’m sorry Leroy,” Sil sighed, frowning, “Like you said, I was drunk and being dumb.”

“Sorry won’t cut it this time Sil! You weren’t there- you didn’t see the state you were in practically bleeding out in front of me!” Leroy frowned, glancing down and shaking his head. “I thought you were going to die.”

Sil reached over, breathing painfully, and wrapped his arms around Leroy. “I really am sorry Leroy. It won’t happen again.”

“Alright. Now stop stretching those stitches and lay back down.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay you mother hen.”


	30. Bennie and Latin

Latin squinted at the sky with a frown. There was smoke coming from the woods, and not a small amount like someone was burning a campfire. No, this was more like someone decided to make a damn bonfire out there. Normally they probably would’ve left it, after all it wasn’t their problem. However, they were drunk off of their ass, as always, and since drunks generally don’t have very good impulse control they were going to see what the fuck was up.

So, that’s where they were at the moment. Marching through the woods to some random fire out of pure curiosity. Latin didn’t expect to find much, some travelers at the least, maybe cultists performing some fucked up fire ritual at the most. It would be fair to say what they found was a healthy combination of both things. Since yknow, a scraggly man sitting by a large bonfire talking to a fruit was simultaneously pretty culty and pretty par for the course at the same time.

Though, what peaked Latins interest more were the long sturdy planks of wood the bum was burning and where they came from. See there was a small airship dug and crashed on the ground near the fire. Not only that, it looked like it was in pretty good shape dispite being crashed and having planks so barbarically ripped from it’s beautiful hull. They approached the hobo, swaying angrily towards the fire and plopping down next to him. 

“I should toss you in that fire for burning those boards.” They slurred, taking a big swing out of their flask. The burn of whisky slipped down their throat as the bum turned to look at them with wide eyes. 

“Are- are you real?” He stuttered out, studying them. Before they could answer he looked down and shook his head, “God, now I’m really going nuts.”

“Hey! ‘Scuse you but I’m perfectly fuckin’ real. Are you real bitch?”

“Probably.”

“Ok then.”

“If you’re real how did you get here? Why are you here?”

“I was bored and saw the smoke from the town. So I was like fuck it, either I find some poor saps to rob off their ass or get murdered. Win-win.” They grinned, and offered the man a swig from their flask.

He eyed them nervously, but took the flask and drank. “Are you going to rob me off my ass? Because I don’t really have much for you too rob sorry.”

“You have that ship.”

“You can’t steal a ship.”

“On the contrary, you don’t look like military and there’s no reason you’d be bumming unless you’re wanted. So, a little bit strange for a ship thief to say I can’t steal a ship.” 

The bum frowned, “You’ve gotta be a real asshole to figure that out so quick.”

“Nope, I can just read wanted posters is all.”

“Why are you reading them in the first place? You a mercenary or something?” He took another swig from the bottle, then handed it back to them.

“Nah, just lookin for my name.”

“Your name? And what would that name even be.”

“Latin.”

“Like the pirate that went around on airships pillaging?”

“That would in fact, be correct. See whose the asshole who figures things out now?”

“Still you.”

“Valid, what’s your name?”

“Wouldn’t you know if you read the wanted posters?”

“Nope, they all just referred to you as ‘The Blueberry Bandit.’” They lifted their hands in quotation marks before shaking their head. “What a dumb alias.”

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose where a crooked scar laid. “So he breaks my nose- but has the decency not to give the cops my name. Go figure.” Sighing, he took the flask from them and took a large chug. “Bennie Mirtilio.” 

“You know how to fly that airship Mirtilio?” 

There was a pause, and Bennie’s eyes flicked to the ship. “Yeah. I do.”

“That’s great, because I’m going to fix it the fuck up and get out of here. But, I’ll need a pilot.”

“And you think I’ll pilot for you?”

“Sure, or you can just stay here in the wild all alone hoping the authority’s don’t find you. I mean, if I saw your fire they sure as hell can too.”

He paled for a moment, grimacing. “Fix that ship and we’ll talk about whoever the hell is gonna drive it.”

“Sounds good to me.”


	31. A Day Off

It was peaceful for once, no work to do, nothing to attend to. No, Alistar could just curl up in his bed and read a book. The covers around him were warm and soft, willing him to snuggle deeper into them. He was perfectly content. 

“Alistar!”

His head shot up, eyes going wide open as he flailed for a second. The chair tipped back and then he thumped on the ground, hitting his head. Alistar laid there pathetically for a moment before processing what had happened. Groaning, he stood and rubbed his head. Laurel stood beside his desk, where scattered and disorganized papers laid. Her scathing eyes scanned him head to toe and her frown deepened.

Picking up the chair from the ground he sighed and said, “Thank you for waking me up Laurel. I must go back to work now though, perhaps you could bring me some food in a little?” When that didn’t remove her foul expression he knew he was in for it.

“Alistar,” she said, laying a hand on her hip, “When was the last time you got a full nights rest?”

He grimaced and racked his brain, “I think maybe a week ago? Before King Charles asked for my advice on the ongoing crisis?”

“And the last time you had a day off from you work?”

Now that, he didn’t know at all. He was always working, always doing something. Every moment he wasn’t making relations with foreign dignitaries or making trade deals with his peers was a moment wasted. So, a day off hasn’t been something that occurred to him much less something he had ever actually done. 

“I don’t recall the last time I took a break off work…” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah no my mind is made. You’re taking a break tomorrow, and you’re going to bed this instant.”

“I’m what now- excuse me I have to finish what I’m doing this is very important it’s a-“

“You could be addressing the King himself and I wouldn’t give a shit, you’re resting.”

“This is to the King!”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t care.”

“Can I finish this last paper though-“

“Well, if it’s unimportant enough that you fall asleep while writing then it can wait.”

“I don’t need the rest that bad Laurel-“

“Alistar, honey, you have smears on your face from resting on wet ink! Your eye bags look like someone gave you a black eye, and I’m not even going to mention the untouched food on the shelf!”

“Well technically by saying you’re not going to mention it you mentioned it-“

“Are you going to fight me on this more or will you take care of yourself, wash up, and go to bed?”

He frowned, glancing down at his work then back up at Laurel. She was right, it could do no real harm to get some sleep. After all no work could be done if he was constantly passing out at his desk. 

“Alright, fine. I’ll wash up and rest. Will you be joining me in bed?”

“No, no I’ve got one or two things to do before I retire for the night.” 

“Hypocrite.”

“Hush,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek, “Go rest now.”

Alistar left his office, tiredly trudging to his room. As if Laurel knew he was going to give in, there was already a warm bath waiting for him. The warmth of the water took away the stress of the day, and to his embarrassment he found he actually did have ink on his face. By the time he was out of the bath Laurel was in bed, quietly waiting for him and reading a book.

“I thought you had things to do,” He said, rummaging through his dresser for pajamas. 

“Well, you took so long in the bath by the time I was done with them you were still in there.”

“Tch” He slipped on his clothes then crawled in bed, arms wrapping around Laurel as she turned off the bedside lamp. Sleep came to him easily as his exhaustion caught up to him and he passed out.

Alistar woke to the sun in his eyes, and he yawned. It seemed Laurel had already gotten up. He shrugged and sluggishly got out of bed. However, a glance at the clock sent his eyes wide. It was eleven! He was practically wasting the day away sleeping. 

Quickly, he sloppily threw on his clothes and rushed to his study. He needed to get those papers done and send them, the sooner the better. Arriving at the door, he went to open it and to his surprise it was locked. At first he was confused as to why it was locked. After all who would lock it? Why would they lock it? 

But of course, as if she was summoned by the sound of him jiggling the doorknob, Laurel walked out from the corner. 

“Oh! Alistar you’re awake that’s lovely!” She smiled, and wrapped him into a hug.

“Why in god's name is my study locked?”

“Well, because you’re taking a break today.”

“What- no- I slept like you said let me get my work done now, I must respond to King Charles promptly.”

“One day will not make you more or less prompt love, it still has to travel to the king’s castle and land on his desk.”

Alistar grumbled, trying to find another excuse as to why he needed to work today. 

“Come on Alistar,” she said, “Just take a day to relax and have fun with your wife. You’re always cooped up in there nowadays it’s almost like you don’t live here. I miss spending time with you, don’t you miss spending time with me?” Her eyes widened and glimmered with sadness as she gave him a look that could give an innocent man guilt. 

“Of course I miss spending time with you Laurel. I just… it gets so busy, you know that.”

“Of course I do, but one day won’t kill you.”

“Alright alright what do you have in mind?” 

“Well of course breakfast! You’ve just woken up you need some food.”

Laurel grabbed his hand, leading them down hallways and stairs, past the dining room and kitchen. Then, they stepped outside. In his five years living at this estate he couldn’t say he’d ever seen anything more beautiful than the gardens at that very moment. 

Colorful flowers blossomed around him in lines and swirls and beautiful patterns of color. It left him almost in awe. He had left this courtyard slightly empty, since he had no real idea what to do with it when they moved in. However this? This he had never seen before.

Laurel led him through the new gardens with an excited grin on her face, until they finally reached a small area with grass and a blanket laid out underneath a tree. She sat down on the blanket, and patted next to her gesturing for him to come.

“Did- did you do this?” Alistar asked, staring around in wonder. How did he miss this happening in his own home? Surely he would’ve noticed? But then again, Laurel was right. He spent so much time alone in his study.

“Yes! I did,” She said happily, blushing at his expression. “I designed it and well, planted quite a bit of it myself. Though that’s not to say the servants didn’t help tremendously.” 

“All of this, you did. I’m- I’m amazed Laurel when did you even take up gardening?”

“When you started to stay in that room longer and longer, and stopped asking for my opinion on things. I got bored and well, you know I’ve always loved flowers.”

Well if one thing was for sure she sure as hell knew how to guilt trip him. “It’s so beautiful,” he leaned towards her and left a small kiss on her lips, “I’m not surprised someone as brilliant as you made this.”

She smiled, leaning in and catching him with another kiss. When they broke apart, she dug through the basket of breads and fruits that were waiting for them. “Thank you Alistar, I’m glad you like it. But, there’s still breakfast to be eaten.” With that she handed him some bread and they dug in. 

Their next stop for the day was taking a small stroll through the town, glancing through smalls shops and market places. Although nothing there was really as nice as their standards were, it was nice to walk around. To relax and take in the city and the people in it. 

Then, of course, she took him to a restaurant. Personally Alistar didn’t get the craze going along his peers at the moment about dining out. Why go out to eat somewhere else when you have perfectly good food at home? So, he had never really gone anywhere to eat yet. Laurel seemed to find this the perfect time to introduce him to the idea. They sat at a table in a small corner, dim candle light flickering around them.

They chatted until the food came about anything and everything. He asked about the meanings of the flowers in the garden, as he was sure she planted them with those in mind. They talked about the rising unrest among the poor and slaves, and what exactly the King asked his advice on. When the food arrived, Alistar was amazed to find it was delicious. Much better than anything the servants at home had ever made. Suddenly, he got why the concept of dining out was so popular. 

Finally, when they were home. Laurel and him took a warm bath together, then went to bed early. For once, it was peaceful. Alistar didn’t worry about the King, and any work he had to do. No, he laid content, snuggling against his wife with a book in hand. After all of that, he had to admit she was right about him needing a break.


	32. Joshua and Alistar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So just a little note, Joshua is 10 in this and Alistar is 16 or 17.

This was bad. Very, very bad. Bad on proportions that were near unfathomable to Alistar. He really should’ve done a better job of hiding his things, but what was he going to do? Make a damn secret passage or something? No, that would be over the top and ridiculous. Plus, there was no doubt his advisers wouldn’t notice money suddenly being invested in something he hadn’t told them about. So he just settled to tucking the ingredients and books he used for his magic deep into the depths of his closet. It’s not like anyone would be looking in there other than him.

However, babysitting a demonic ten year old with a knack for getting into things he shouldn’t get into hadn’t occurred to him. Why would it have occurred to Alistar? He was a noble now, he figured no gremlins would be involved with that. But according to his advisers Alistar had to build ‘interpersonal relationships’ with his ‘peers’ for some reason. Frederick had said something about money and trade. Though, they didn’t let him know much about those things.

Alistar’s crisis was rudely interrupted as Joshua banged on his door. The boy screeched to unlock it and his stomach dropped as he glanced around the hallway. There was nobody around. At least there was one good thing happening. He sucked in a breath, and once the slamming stopped he opened the door. Joshua suddenly ran forwards, eyes widening as he realized the lack of a door. Then, he slammed right into a wall with a thump. 

It took all of Alistar’s self control not to laugh as Joshua slowly stood, rubbing his head.

“You- you- heretic! Sinner!-“ The ginger shouted, turning to him angrily. Alistar slammed a hand over Joshua’s mouth, his blood going cold. The words snapped him back to reality, he had to deal with this. His eyes glanced at the stairs, contemplating for a second. It was a long way down, say if this little devil tripped and snapped his neck falling it wouldn’t be unbelievable. Alistar took a moment, considering it, but shook it off. He wasn’t going to kill someone over this. Glancing around once more, he grabbed Joshua by his ridiculous hair and dragged him into Alistar’s room. 

Once the door was locked he relaxed a little bit, and let go of Joshua. The ten year old quickly rushed over to the door again, screaming and slamming on it. Eventually, Joshua tired himself out, slumping into a lump of red hair into the door. Alistar sighed, feeling a little sorry for the kid. No doubt it was a little scary to be forcefully dragged and trapped in some guys room. Although, he did tell him not to touch his stuff. 

“Are you done screaming and slamming the door?” He asked, cocking his head.

Joshua was silent for a moment, before nodding and saying, “So, what are you going to do to me?”

“Do to you?”

“You know, creepy cult people like you eat eyes and kill people and like curse people and stuff.”

“Okay first off- rude we’re not a cult we’re a religion just like any other and two, no I’m not going to do any of those things to you.

“Liar! There were human eyes in that box!”

“They were glass, I use them symbolically cause I’m not going to take someone’s eyes!”

“You still worship some weird eye monster!”

“Y’know, I might redact that statement on not taking eyes if you keep being rude like that.”

Joshua’s eyes widened and he scooted back against the door some more. “I’m- I’m sorry-“ He stuttered out, and Alistar noticed him trying the doorknob a little more.

“I’m not going to hurt you, so calm down. I just need you to promise you’ll keep your little mouth shut about what was in my closet.”

“Never- you- you’re a menace! You keep me in your room like this and threaten me?! I’m going to get you burned soon as I can-!”

Alistar grimaced and clenched his fist. He really should’ve considered tossing Joshua down those stairs for longer. It was obvious that letting him go wasn’t an option though, and Alistar didn’t actually want to kill him. Joshu was just a dumb snotty kid that got into things he shouldn’t have. Suddenly, he had an idea. He was sure he had a potion that helped when you couldn’t remember something, so maybe, just maybe, if he messed with it a little he could get someone to forget something. 

He grinned, and ran over to his closet, grabbing his book. Thumbing through the pages, Alistar paused as he found scribbles of a memory potion. This was one his mom used a lot, to help dad remember things. Shooing away the pain in his chest, he started to think about how he could change it around. Rosemary was to influence the memory so he had to keep that in, the sage however he’d probably need to get rid of. Slowly but surely, he wrote down the changes. 

It took almost an hour, but eventually he had a recipe he was confidant would either work to erase the day or make Joshua forget who he was entirely. While the day was preferred, he wouldn’t really be upset if he made Joshua go crazy. The brat kinda deserved it. He stood and glanced up at the book. Then, he noted a worrying lack of ginger in the corner. Alistar’s eyes widened as he noticed the screws of his door handle had been twisted off, and the handle itself removed. He stared, slightly stunned. How the actual hell did Joshua manage that?

Now wasn’t the time to think about the logistics of his escape though, he needed to get to Joshua, get to a pot, and make that kid forget. He quickly grabbed the ingredients he’d need, and sprinted after Joshua. Luckily, Alistar wasn’t too late. He saw ginger hair slip behind a corner and gave chase. 

His heart pounded as he sped towards Joshua, and he regretted letting the kid get out in the first place. Running was definitely not his strong suit. Joshua seemed so close, but yet managed to avoid his grasp by a hair's length. 

Wait.

Hair’s length.

Alistar cursed himself out for being such an idiot, and grabbed at the ginger hair whipping behind Joshua. Then, he yanked, and the kid stumbled backwards and fell with a scream. He needed to be threatening here, Joshua needed to be too scared to run. So, Alistar placed a foot on the ten year olds chest, and glared down at him.

“Run again, and I’ll curse you so badly you’ll you wish I killed you.” Yeah, that seemed pretty scary given that Joshua went pale and was staring up at him in abject horror. Alistar actually had no idea how to curse someone, or if that was even a real thing, but Joshua seemed to buy it. 

He slowly moved his foot off of Joshua’s chest, and the little boy stood. Alistar couldn’t help but notice how he was trembling slightly, and refused to look up at him. He felt a pang of guilt run through him and told himself there was no other way to do this. The kid had to be terrified of him or else he’d run and tell. 

Alistar grabbed Joshua’s arm and tugged the poor kid along to the kitchen. The servants stared as he calmed down, and glanced at Joshua.

One of them walked up to him with a brow raised, asking, “My Lord, what are you doing down-“ 

He glanced around and frowned, then answered, “Do not worry about it. What I do in my house is my business, go attend to other things and leave this room until I say otherwise.”

“But dinner-“

“Leave!” He cringed as the woman he was speaking to flinched, and the rest of the servants scurried away. Alistar didn’t think he’d ever start liking holding his power over peoples heads.

“What are you going to do are you going to cook me- take my eyes- are you going to-“

“Stop babbling already just sit down and leave me alone.”

“What makes you think I won’t run the moment you take your eyes off me?”

“Well I guess if you really want to be cursed…” With that Joshua shut up, his mouth pressing into a line. He sat in the corner, fuming, and Alistar got to work on the potion. Luckily, all the ingredients he needed he had, or they were close in the small herb garden he’d managed to make in the corner of the courtyard. He was done in no time.

Now, it was the moment of truth. Would it work? Would it break Joshua’s mind? Would he have to find a shovel? He let out a deep breath, calming his nerves, and handed a cup of the potion to Joshua.

“I’m… not going to drink this.. I don’t know what this is you could be poisoning me you could-“ Alistar narrowed his eyes, glaring at Joshua. 

Joshua looked at the bowl, then back at him, then back at the bowl. Then, the boy held the bowl to his lips and chugged it all down. 

“If I die my parents will sue you.”

“Calm down you probably won’t tie.”

“Probably-?” Then, Joshua passed out. Alistar caught him before he slammed his head into the wall and grinned. Perfect. 

It took about thirty minutes for him to wake up and for Alistar to come up with the perfect excuse. 

“Ughhhh” Joshua’s eyes peeled open and he rubbed his head, “What happened? Where am I? Who are you?”

Alistar feigned a worried face as he helped Joshua up. “Oh man, are you alright? We were joking around and you tripped and tumbled down the stairs.”

“Ugh. I feel like I fell down a flight of stairs. Where are my parents?”

“They left you here with me remember? They had to go to a ball and wanted you in sophisticated company.” 

“Oh. I don’t remember that. I don’t really remember any of today.” 

“Really? That’s a shame we were having so much fun harassing my servants.” This was too easy, he was going to get off scott free. That and he had managed to make a potion that erased memories, which he was sure would come in handy again.

“We were?”

“Absolutely.”

“That sounds so fun, normally when my parents dump me with people they just shove me in a room with tea or books or a piano.” Joshua paused for a moment, before grinning, “I think next time my parents have to go do something, I’ll ask them to leave me with you. After all, if I had so much fun I fell down a flight of stairs I’ll surely have as much fun next time.”

Oh no. This was bad. Very, very bad. Bad on proportions that were near unfathomable to Alistar. He was going to have to deal with Joshua for a long while, wasn’t he?


	33. Cute Gabe and Alistar

Alistar didn’t know when his bed became his and Gabe’s bed, but the change was certainly welcome. Some point between a month ago and now, they had both mutually decided that they didn’t need to ask for the others company. So, Gabe was in his bed almost every night, with his arms wrapped around Alistar. Of course, he didn’t mind in the least bit. Gabe was warm, and helped drive away the paranoia that ate away at him some nights. However, were still nights he couldn’t sleep, nights he eyed the windows and would swear to everything he held dear there was someone out there.

This night, was one of those nights. Alistar squirmed in Gabe’s grasp, craning his head for a better look at the window. Gabe stirred, muttering whilst half awake, “Alistar, stop moving I’m trying to get some sleep.” He slouched back against the mattress, debating telling Gabe to get up and check the window. Frowning, Alistar decided to check for himself. However, when he tried to gently move away from Gabe he found himself held in place.

“There’s nothing there Alistar, you’ve already checked two times tonight. Just go to sleep and stop moving around already.” Gabe pulled him closer, grumbling out his complaints. He frowned, glancing back up at the edge of the window, and gave up. Burying his face in Gabe’s chest, Alistar willed himself to just shut his eyes and sleep. Eventually, the crawling sensation up his back faded, and he let out a yawn. Finally relaxed, he mumbled to Gabe a goodnight, and waited to slip into unconscious.

Until he heard Gabe mumble out, “Goodnight, I love you.” 

Then he was certainly awake. Sleepy, but awake. Gabe had never said that, not once in the months they’d decided to become more then what they were. Of course, Alistar never expected him to any time soon. Gabe was dodgy about dates, about presents, anything romantic really. It didn’t bother him much, he knew some things just took time. But he was genuinely stunned, to the point he thought he might’ve misheard it.

“Gabe?” He asked quietly, looking up at him. Silence was his answer, and it seemed Gabe was asleep. Alistar paused, and then sighed. He supposed he could ask in the morning. After all, Gabe’s warmth and the exhaustion of his day was already lulling him to sleep. Before he knew it, it was morning. 

Alistar peeled his eyes open, the shrill sound of a woman’s voice and dull knocking on the door waking him.

“Your majesty, it is time to wake up!” The voice called, and he groaned.

“Thank you for waking me, you may go now!” Alistar called out, not even bothering to answer the door. It was too damn comfortable in his bed, he wasn’t moving any time soon. Sadly, it seemed that Gabe was awake too now. Probably because Alistar yelled right near his ear. 

Gabe sat up, stretching. He scratched the back of his head and glanced around before his eye settled on Alistar. “Oh nice, normally you’re gone by the time I wake up.” Gabe said, smiling. 

“I was tired out from yesterday is all, dealing with Joshua is a migraine and a half.” Alistar snickered, and stood, then walked over to the closet. Quickly scanning his clothes, he pulled out an outfit. 

“Actually speaking of yesterday there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Yeah?” Gabe looked at him, clothes piled in his arms.

“Did you.. did you mean what you said last night?”

“Mean what?”

“Y’know, you said-“ he paused, frowning. He must’ve misheard or something. Hell, Gabe was half asleep, he might not even remember what he said. It didn’t matter anyways, Alistar shouldn’t press it. “Never mind, must’ve misheard you something.”

Gabe shrugged, going back to picking up his clothes from the ground. Alistar frowned, turning back around and getting dressed. He shouldn’t be upset about not knowing, yet he was. They were just words, that’s all, it didn’t matter.

They day passed by as normal, dealing with commoners, dignitaries, Joshua, and papers. The only thing he had to look forward to today was the date he had with Gabe. For once, it was something Gabe had planned instead of him. Alistar wasn’t going to lie, he was slightly worried. Gabe got flustered really easily whenever they did something romantic, and well he was Gabe. Of course Alistar was worried. There was a 50% chance he was going to end up drunk at a rowdy bar as a date with Gabe.

That didn’t seem to be the case though, as Gabe slipped him a note telling him to meet in by the front door of his manor in an hour or so. Alistar happily obliged, finishing up the last bits of his papers and going down to the doors. There Gabe was waiting, with a basket in his hands. He seemed nervous, fiddling with the hem of the coat he wore. Alistar was surprised to find he wasn’t in uniform, but in something relatively nice for their date. Of course it wasn’t the flashy embroidered coats that Alistar wore, but it was nice to see Gabe put in some effort. 

“So, where are we headed?” He asked, taking Gabe’s hand in his own. 

“Well, um, I didn’t want to take you somewhere we’ve already been so.. the river?”

“Are you sure? That sounded like a question Gabe.” He teased, nudging Gabe with his shoulder.

“Well, does that sound alright to you?”

“Gabe of course it sounds alright, I’m with you.” Gabe froze, his face going beet red, and Alistar had to stifle a laugh. He’d never get over the sight of Gabe being flustered.

“Well- uh- okay then, let’s go.” Gabe lead him through the city to the small river that ran across the northern side of town down to the ocean. Surprisingly, Alistar thought they were going to go to the docks, and maybe take a nice ride on one of the larger boats. As Gabe led him further south then the docks though, his curiosity grew. Finally, they came to a small wooden boat, not longer than Alistar’s height. 

“Sorry it’s so small,” Gabe said, putting down the bag he had carried there into the boat. “I just wanted someplace where we would be alone since I know how you are about keeping things between us hush hush. One of those bigger boats by the docks would’ve had a bunch of people on it.” 

Gabe had really thought the date through it seemed. Alistar smiled, it meant a lot to him that Gabe had. “Sounds amazing. How did you even get the boat though?”

“A friend owed me a favor and has a boat so I borrowed it.”

“You intimidated one of the recruits into letting you use their boat you mean?” Alistar snickered as Gabe pushed the dingy into the water. Climbing in with Gabe’s help, they were on their way. The slow flow of the river carried them along, and as the sun set they watched as the candles and lanterns of the city flicked on. It was then Gabe pulled out a lantern, bathing the surrounding area in soft light. 

“Y’know, for someone who is supposedly terrible with romance you are quite good at setting a mood. Although sadly I don’t believe this boat is stable enough for us to screw in.”

“Yeah,” Gabe chuckled, pulling out some drinks and food, “But we could always try, worst that happens is we fall out.”

“You make it sound like falling out isn’t that bad. The water is surely freezing, and you can take a dip in it all you’d like but I will refrain from doing so.” He glanced at the wine, and frowned when he saw no cups, “Gabe, did you forget glasses?” 

Gabe paused, glancing back down at the bag he had brought. “Whoops?” He said, looking back at Alistar in embarrassment. “You don’t mind drinking out of the bottle right?”

“Not really,” Alistar examined the shore, staring at the dim lights that speckled the city. “What made you think of this? It’s really nice out here at night.”

“To be honest, it sort‘ve just popped in my head. It used to be so peaceful when I was just a soldier and had to patrol at night. Nobody’s out, the world is dark, it’s nice.” 

“Thank you for putting this much thought into this. I honestly thought you were just going to take me to a bar or something.”

“Hey. Don’t diss bars sir, you find some of the best people and the most fun in a bar.”

“I suppose, though I believe it would be improper for the king to be getting wasted at a bar.”

“You’re on a date with your general who you’ve been fucking in secret for several years.” Gabe laughed, “I’m pretty sure nothing about us being together would be considered proper.”

“Touché” Alistar chimed in amusement. Gabe handed him the bottle of wine, and he took a swig.

“Have you ever been on a boat this small before?” Gabe asked, tearing a small piece of the bread and handing it to him.

He frowned for a moment, thinking. Alistar had been on boats smaller then this one plenty of times with his father. Though of course that wasn’t really something he could just say. 

“I have before, once or twice.” At least he could be vague about it.

“Huh, I wouldn’t have thought that. Figured fancy old you would only ride on the nicest and largest ships.” 

Alistar opened his mouth to say something, but then his eyes widened as he saw them about to slam into the rocky side of the river. “Gabe! Gabe the shore!” He shouted, pointing over to the dim shoreline.

Gabe turned, and panic painted his face. He stood suddenly and grabbed the oar. However, the shore was the least of their worries. The boat rocked, swaying with the force of Gabe standing up. Gabe suddenly wobbled, loosing his balance and falling to the side. The boat tilted as Gabe landed, and the next thing Alistar knew he was in ice cold water. 

The initial shock wearing off, he swam up and grabbed onto the overturned boat. Alistar scanned the water, waiting for Gabe’s head to pop up. It seemed like minutes passed, and a realization hit Alistar. Did Gabe know how to swim? Before he could dive down and search, Gabe’s head popped up. Alistar sighed, the lump in his throat now gone and paddled the flipped boat over to Gabe.

“I am so so sorry.”

“It’s alright Gabe, you didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“Yeah but still-“

He rolled his eyes, splashing water in Gabe’s direction. “I said it was alright. Are your ears waterlogged or something?”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed, and suddenly there was a shower of water coming his way. The frigid droplets hit his face, and his gasped in feigned horror. “How dare you!” He grinned, ducking under the water and diving, then grabbing his feet. With a harsh tug, Gabe was dragged under. Alistar relished the surprise on Gabe’s face as the man stared at him from underneath the water. He swam away, smirking as Gabe popped up from underneath. He chased after Alistar, and the rest of their night was spent splashing and chasing each other like idiots. That, and they figured out the answer to if the boat was stable enough to screw in.

The answer? 

No. It really really wasn’t.


	34. Mpreg Crack Fic

Gabe was pretty sure he was dying. That was the only explanation, he was dying. He didn’t know how in the hell this happened, and while not knowing things was Gabe’s forte he didn’t like not knowing this. When his stomach first started growing, he joked about it. Yknow, joking eating too much of those fatty foods or he’d say couldn’t keep up with his exercise cause he was an old fart. Hell he would’ve taken a beer belly over this.

But no, he was undeniably pregnant. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand how either. The doctor seemed completely baffled by it, and when he told Alistar his boss just stood with his jaw gaping. Nobody had any idea how the hell this happened. Yet, it did. The doctor couldn’t deny the kicks coming from his stomach, and didn’t know how else it could’ve grown as much as it had and as quickly as it did. 

Gabe, although really confused and kinda concerned as to how the hell the baby would even come out, didn’t mind too much what was happening. He had always wanted kids and while this was an unorthodox method he was indifferent about it. So he’d just carry out the pregnancy, pray it didn’t kill him, and hopefully at the end of the day have a kid.

The only real problem is that the kid was probably Alistar’s. Normally that wouldn’t be too much of a problem, except Alistar seemed to be completely and utterly against having a kid. To the point in which he wanted Gabe to kill it before it was born or kill it once it was born. Now Gabe wasn’t the greatest person he would admit that much, but he wasn’t going to kill a baby. That, and Alistar had no good reason other then if people found out his reputation would be damaged. Gabe didn’t think that was the full story, since the man had daddy issues written all over him.

Then, he was called into Alistar’s office. Alistar was sat at his desk, frowning over paperwork as always. Gabe entered the room, coughing to let Alistar know he was there. Peeling himself from his work, Alistar looked up at Gabe. 

“Gabe,” He said, smiling falsely, “I’m glad you came I know we’ve been...disagreeing on some things lately.”

“You’re still my boss sir, gotta come when you ask me to.” Gabe answered, sitting down in the chair across from Alistar. His boss snorted at the statement, and pink tinged his cheeks slightly.

“Yknow, they say children can hear the last month of pregnancy. You should be careful throwing those innuendos around.”

“Yeah yeah, why’d you call me in here sir?”

“I actually wanted to talk to you about the child. You know how I feel about it by now… I just wanted to try and talk you out of this before it’s too late.”

“Alistar-“

“Please, just let me speak Gabe. I will admit to you I haven’t been entirely truthful to you regarding the reasons I don’t want this baby born.” Oh, no shit he hadn’t been entirely truthful. 

“Yeah, because of your fuckin’ daddy issues right? You don’t wanna be the dad to some peasant boy cause that’s what your dad did?”

“Excuse me- what-? No! That’s not it at all! And it’s extremely rude to assume that!”

“I mean it’s true, but sorry?”

“You realize I am still your boss and you shouldn’t speak to me that way!”

“You’re right, my deepest apologies sir.” He snickered as Alistar flushed bright red. 

“You- I- Oh my god!” He hid his face in his hands, then took a deep breath and re-emerged. “No, it’s not because I have ‘daddy issues’ Gabe.”

“Then what haven’t you told me as to why you don’t want this baby born?”

“I’m not an Avidite at all Gabe. I wasn’t born in the capital, nor to a noble, and not even to a nobleman’s servant. I’m from a small fishing village just south of here, and Alistar isn’t even my real name.” Excuse him- w h a t? Gabe took a moment to process the information, not knowing how the hell that even pertained to this.

“And that has to do with this why-?”

“Shut up, let me continue. You have no idea how hard this is for me to say.”

“I can’t imagine it’s that hard, in the pregnant one here.” He raised his brows, smirking.

“Gabe.” His smile dropped at Alistar’s tone of voice. Whatever his boss was about to say, it wasn’t good. “I was born to a poor fisherman from across the ocean, and a cultist. A cultist, who had been kicked out from her people, but didn’t let that stop her from practicing her beliefs and her magic. She passed that magic down to me and whatever offspring I have will have that magic too.” Gabe froze, thinking about what Alistar was saying.

“So...you’re a witch?” He nodded, “and this kid, when they’re born, they’ll be a witch too?” Alistar nodded again. “I don’t see what’s so wrong with that?”

“Gabe, you don’t understand. This child will have to hide a part of themselves forever. They’ll have to live in secrecy, and paranoia to survive, and take ‘care’ of anyone who finds out who can’t be trusted. Because of what they are gets out, they’ll be killed in the blink of an eye. I don’t want to bring something into the world that has to suffer like that.” Alistar paused and digged in the drawer for a moment before pulling out a vial of murky brown liquid. “This is something I made myself back when I was with Laurel. If you use it within the week it should kill the baby with no harm done to you. It’s your choice if you’re going to use it or not.” 

Gabe eyed the vial, then slowly took it and studied it. “It won’t hurt me at all?”

“Not in the slightest. I used it on Laurel all the time and she didn’t even know.” Alistar shut the drawer and looked back at him.

“That’s… that’s really fucking shady sir.”

“Just be glad I’m giving you a choice here Gabe, take the potion, think about what I said, and go. I’ll know if you take it or not.”

With that, Alistar looked down at his papers and continued scribbling. Gabe left the room, vial in hand, and went back to his quarters. Should he get rid of the baby? Alistar was right, someone having to endure all that secrecy and prejudice was terrible. But, hadn’t Alistar endured all of that and ended up fine? Well. Fine enough Gabe supposed. He went to bed with those questions raging in his mind.

Days past, until Gabe finally decided. He was going to keep the baby. No matter if they might face a difficult life, he still couldn’t will himself to kill them this far in. Weeks later, he delivered the child, albeit extremely strangely. He tried to get the doctor to explain how that had even worked, but the poor man seemed too traumatized by the experience to relive it. 

Alistar and Gabe now has a lovely baby boy, named Derek. Alistar tried to protest at the name, saying it was strange and ugly, but Gabe told him to go fuck himself he didn’t push Derek out of whatever the hell Gabe pushed him out of. His asshole? Urethra maybe? A third hole he was unaware of? Honestly he couldn’t tell during the experience the entire night was a haze except for one single coherent thought.

That he could now answer the question of what hurt more, a kick in the balls, or birth.


	35. Alistar does a whoops

In hindsight, Alistar really should stop testing his potions out on himself. Sure it’s not like he didn’t make sure it worked on bunnies or rats, whatever the servants brought him really. But sometimes potions were funny in the fact they didn’t work exactly the same on people. He had always tried most of them on himself, other then the ones meant to have permanent effects such as death, and it always worked out alright.

However, when he rolled out of bed with the wrong body parts, he figured this qualified as ‘not alright.’ Somehow, some way, he had been turned into a woman. Boobs, vagina, hell even his beard was gone. Worst of all, he was completely and utterly naked, with Gabe laying in his bed about to wake up.

At least he knew Gabe hadn’t already found out as he had most definitely been a man last night,given as Gabe had sucked his dick, which meant he had only recently turned into a woman.

Gabe started to stir as he pondered the situation he had somehow fucking found his way into, and Alistar quickly sprinted into the bathroom before he could be seen. The slam of the door seemed to finally be what woke Gabe up, as in a couple moments Alistar heard heavy footsteps and the rustle of clothes. Then, there was a knock on the door. 

“Sir? Are you alright?” Gabe asked, his voice slightly muffled through the door.

His chest tightened, and Alistar had to stop himself from nervously laughing. “I’m- I’m fine Gabe, I just uh.” Oh lord. He voice sounded different. Of course his voice sounded different. Apparently everything ever had to go wrong at once. He paused, praying Gabe didn’t notice his voice and thinking about what the hell he could even say in this situation. “I just uh...needed to go to the bathroom really badly?” 

“Oh you’re just taking a shit, sorry. I was just worried you don’t normally bolt out of bed like that. I’m going to go, I’m late to the training anyways I’m sure the recruits are destroying everything.” After a moment, Alistar heard footsteps and the sound of a door shutting. He practically collapsed in relief, then glanced out of the bathroom door before stepping out.

What was he going to do? What could he even do? Sit in his room all day until it was night again and he could sneak off to his potion’s room? It was a good of a plan as any, if it weren’t for the fact he had several meetings with a man he very much didn’t want to talk to.

Joshua.

Of course Joshua had to come on a day like this.

Snarky, touchy, flirty, stupid ass Joshua. Alistar groaned, throwing himself onto his bed. It seemed he had no choice but to try and pull this off. The first order of business was the boobs. Luckily, they weren’t huge, so he figured with a scarf he could flatten his chest enough to be convincing. Digging through his closet he found a plain scarf and wrapped it around his chest tightly. It was a bit too tight and hurt a little, but he’d deal with it. Nobody could find out this had happened after all. Alistar slipped on an outfit and took a deep breath before heading out. 

First, he needed food. He told a servant to bring him breakfast in his office, and although they looked at him strange for a moment, they complied. Maybe, just maybe, he could pull this off. Alistar went to his office, grabbing at the reminders of Joshua’s arrival on his desk. It seemed he had an hour to prepare for the flamboyant man coming to visit. The food arrived, and he ate hastily, then snuck down into his potions room to see what went wrong.

The potion he was brewing really shouldn’t have gone this poorly. After all he wasn’t doing anything new, just trying to tweak the potion he regularly drank to try and counteract it making his paranoia worse. He knew it was doing it after all, since the weeks he didn’t drink it were some of the calmest he’s had in a while. Yet somehow it had done this! 

If the situation were different, he might be somewhat proud of himself, after all a potion that can fully change someone’s gender? He was sure someone somewhere had a use or two for that. After all, he could think of a few reasons to stay a woman right now. Though sadly, Gabe couldn’t know about it. Right now though, he had to focus on fixing this. Hopefully before Joshua came. 

Though, as his luck was running, ten or so minutes later there was a knock on his office door. He sprinted up and sat in his chair, before saying a polite, “Come in.”

Gabe entered first, a look of disgust and exhaustion on his face. Instantly, he knew that Joshua must have arrived early. His suspicious were confirmed when Joshua trailed into the room behind Gabe, wearing the most ostentatious jacket Alistar had ever seen. Jewels were sewn into the collar, glittering as they caught the light, and the sheen of gold thread spread across the fabric like vines. Honestly, it hurt his head to look at.

“Lord Gaynor, you came early.” Alistar said, trying not to grind his teeth in annoyance. Of course he came early.

“How many times do I have to tell you Alistar, it’s just Joshua for you.” He chimed, grinning. 

“Pardon me, must’ve been a slip of the tongue Joshua. Though as I’ve told you before, I prefer if you call me Lord Avidite.”

“Oh what’s the need with the formalities you’ve known me since I was a child Alistar.”

A fact Alistar regretted greatly, if only he could’ve never met Joshua ever. “I suppose, I still prefer them.”

“Are you alright? Your voice sounds a bit strange.”

“Oh I’m fine, I’ve just had a bit of a cough I can’t shake.”

“Ah, I see. Well, sorry I came so early but I couldn’t wait to see you again. It’s been so long since we’ve talked and caught up! It will be nice to chat over some food.”

“Yes and discuss business of course?”

“Why of course, your land gives me all the goods I could ever wish to ship. Even though it is a bit er, outdated how you run things.”

“Call me old fashioned I suppose. Well, I still have some paperwork to handle so I’ll have the servants bring you to the sitting room where you can wait until I’m free.”

“Oh well, I could just stay here alone in your office and keep you company.”

Yeah there was no way that was happening ever. “No no, I’m sorry but what I have to write is confidential to everyone but Gabe here. Things regarding the recent uprisings and whatnot.”

Some servants came in to escort Joshua out, and Alistar barely catched the flash of anger that went across the mans face before he was herded out of the room. Once Joshua was safely away, Alistar slammed his head on the desk and groaned. He heard Gabe chuckle, and sit down in the chair in front of him. 

“That’s exactly how I reacted when he showed up. You want me to stay here and keep his hands off you?” Gabe asked, and Alistar smiled. Thank god for Gabe.

“That would be much appreciated actually, I really don’t want to deal with him being him today.” He paused for a moment, “Wait, don’t you train the recruits today?”

“When I saw Joshua’s carriage pull up I just told Captain Jones to make sure they don’t get out of hand today. When did you shave your beard by the way? It looks….unsettling.”

“Just this morning, I uh.. wanted to try something new? Why’s it unsettling?”

“It’s just strange to see you without it.”

“Hm, I suppose so. God I don’t want to go out there and deal with him.” He hung his head in his hands, groaning again. Suddenly, his chin was lifted and he came face to face with a smirking Gabe.

“Weeelll, if you’re too stressed out to deal with him right now I could always help you relax Sir.” Alistar could feel his face heat up, and he thought about taking the offer for a moment, before remembering his predicament.

“No, no, no, I can’t. If we get my clothes dirty, or if we take too long, I can’t risk any of that. Thank you for the offer though Gabe. I’ll just have to go out there and deal with it.”

“Alright.” Gabe nodded as Alistar stood and straightened his clothes. He put his remaining papers in the drawer, fed Lola, then went to go deal with a ginger devil.

When Alistar walked into his sitting room he was greeted by a loud, “Ah! Finally, I was waiting here so long I thought my hair would go grey!”

God, if only he’d been able to accept that fuck. He was high strung enough he wanted to just slap Joshua. “Yes, well perhaps you should’ve come early. I would’ve been done with my papers when you arrived if you had.”

Joshua stood from the couch he laid in, still beaming as always. “Well, a little waiting never hurt anybody I suppose. May we walk around your garden and catch up before we discuss business? I really just has been so long.”

He had to hold back an annoyed sigh, and nodded. “Yes, of course we can Joshua.”

“Lovely!” They started to walk on their way until Joshua paused for a moment, “Oh. The soldier boy is coming with us?”

“Yes, the General is coming with us. You understand how much I value your safety Joshua it’s only natural we’d have protection.”

“In your own house? Can’t we take a walk alone?”

“I’m sorry Joshua safety must absolutely be prioritized here.”

“Yes. Alright. Can he at least follow behind ten paces?”

“That sounds reasonable.” They started on there walk, Gabe walking about ten feet behind them sadly, but still there which was at least a comfort.

Alistar grit his teeth when they got to the garden and Joshua’s hand snaked around his waist. He bit his tongue, willing himself not to say anything. This was going to be a very long visit.

Hours of Joshua trying to get them alone and changing the subject whenever Alistar actually tries to discuss business wore him down and he begged for the day to be over. Just when it seemed Joshua would leave and he could rest his luck had to go from bad, to worse. 

After walking around with Joshua and trying his best not to shove the man off him, he felt so tired. He was lightheaded, and his breathing heavy. Surely it couldn’t have been the standing and talking though, this was nothing he hadn’t done before. 

“I need-“ he sucked in a harsh breath, realizing he was practically leaning on Joshua as they walked. Which, he was sure the man was enjoying too much for his comfort, “I need to sit down, just hold on I..” Alistar’s voice trailed off as he stumbled, Joshua barely holding him up. Why did it feel so hard to breath? 

Gabe, seemingly seeing that Alistar wasn’t alright, rushed up to them. “Sir?” He asked, worry painting his face, “My lord are you alright?” Alistar didn’t really get the chance to answer Gabe, since he was too busy collapsing and going unconscious.

He woke up, and the first thing he heard was Gabe and Joshua arguing. His head was pounding, and their yelling did nothing to help. Alistar groaned sitting up, “Shut up please, both of you.” God, he felt like crap. The scarf around his chest was digging into his skin, and every breath took too much effort to be safe. 

“Sir! You’re awake, that’s great-“ Gabe said, walking towards him happily.

“I said shut up. If you could follow that command I would be very very happy.”

“Yeah, soldier boy, know your place.” Joshua cackled, reveling in the fact Gabe had been scolded.

“Didn’t I say to shut up! That applies to both of you! Be fucking quiet!” He yelled, sucking in a harsh breath. Alistar couldn’t breath- god he needed to breath properly it was so uncomfortable like this. He gasped, trying to find enough sense to say something else. He needed the fucking scarf off, and he needed it off right that moment, that’s what he fucking needed. 

“Gabe- Gabe do you have a knife?” He wheezed, glancing at the General.

“Yes, I do?” He pulled out a blade from his boot, and Alistar grabbed at it greedily. “What do you need it for-“ Gabe’s voice trailed off and his eyes widened as Alistar pointed the knife down at himself. “Alistar! What the-“

Before Gabe could grab the knife out of his hands, he sawed through his clothes, cutting the scarf that was restricting his breathing. Relief flooded through him as he sucked in a breath, practically panting. For a moment, he mourned the lovely blue vest he had ruined, but god he felt so much better. 

However, he was ripped out of his joyous relief of being able to breath by Gabe hesitantly saying, “Sir?” Gabe paused, the man seemingly unable to take his eyes of his chest.

Oh yeah. That’s right, he was a woman. His eyes widened as he processes what happened, and struggled to cover up the boobs. It was too late though, given by the look of absolute confusion on Gabe’s face and the horrified disgust on Joshua’s.

“I was flirting with a woman?! You’re a woman?! Oh my god!“ Joshua walked up to him, anger replacing the horror. “You- you bitch! Tricking me into putting my arm around your waist- making me do business with you!” Before Alistar could even process it, Joshua had raised a hand, and slapped him across the face. Alistar sat there for a moment, completely stunned. “Stupid woman! I’m leaving, and the whole kingdom will know of your trickery wench!” Oh god, no that was absolutely not happening. 

“Gabe, knock him out please.” He said, handing the knife back to Gabe. 

“Woah- woah excuse me what now?” Gabe looked at him incredulously, “You’re not even Alistar!”

Oh my god. Gabe thought he was an imposter. Of course Gabe thought he was an imposter. “Shut up you dumbass, I’m Alistar!”

“Well then what’s something only Alistar would know, huh?”

“That you have sensitive nipples and when I twist them a certain way you whimper like a fucking dog, are you happy? Now go knock that stupid ginger out.”

Although thoroughly embarrassed, that seemed to convince Gabe he was the real deal. Gabe rushed over to Joshua, who squirmed and struggled against Gabe’s grasp. The twig of a man was no threat against Gabe’s strength though, and a couple punches to the head later Joshua was out. 

“Thank you,” He groaned out, sitting up. 

“Just following orders I guess. What’s up with the titties? Because I’m pretty sure you’ve never had those.”

“God, I wish I knew.”

“Can I-?”

“No. You cannot grope them.”

“But-“

“Nope. Not right now at least.”

“So I can later?” Gabe asked, raising a brow. 

“Just help me pick up Joshua and put him under the couch so none of the servants see him Gabe.” Gabe shrugged, and grabbed Joshua’s legs, helping Alistar slide him under the couch. 

“What are we going to do when he wakes up?”

“Make him forget everything.”

“What? How are we going to do that?”

“We’re not, I am. A simple potion should do the trick to erase the entire day from him. Then we just say he tripped or something and call it a day.”

“A potion?” Gabe asked, tilting his head like a confused dog. 

“You know, this will be much much easier for me if you don’t ask questions and just go with it.”

“Okay, I guess.” Alistar, glanced down at his ruined clothes. He needed something to cover him up for the walk to his office. 

“Take off your jacket Gabe.”

“Didn’t you say now wasn’t the time for this sort of thing?” 

“It’s not you idiot, what am I supposed to walk out into the hall with my boobs hanging out?” He started to take his ruined vest and shirt off, cringing as he noticed the angry red marks in his skin where the scarf had dug in. In hindsight, maybe that hadn’t been such a great idea. He sighed, and slipped on Gabe’s jacket, then quickly buttoned it up. They walked to his office, then, into the secret passage that led to his potions room.

Gabe, the poor man, only got more confused from there. “Um. How long has this been here?”

“What did I say about questions?”

“I’m not just going to let you drag me into some sex dungeon without questions...Sir-? Ma’am?”

“Just use Sir Gabe, it’s what you’ve always used and it’s no sex dungeon it’s just where I make my magic potions.” 

“You make drugs?” Alistar groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“No! Actual magic! Like accidentally turn you into a woman magic you dumbass!”

“But how can you do magic?”

“I’m a witch.”

“What?

“I’m a witch.”

“I heard you but what I don’t get any elaborating on that? How are you a witch! Aren’t you some servants son how the hell did you end up witty magic how do you even know how to make potions! Is that why you’re a woman? Why you’re so paranoid and- and why you didn’t just tell me this morning something happened? This day has been SO fucking weird and I want some damn answers Alistar!” Gabe was fuming, his fists clenched, his face red and his eyes narrowed.

Alistar almost felt bad when all he said was, “No. You’re not getting any answers.”

“Why?!”

“Because I’ve had a scarf digging into my chest all day, I just passed out, had Joshua fucking slap me, and I’ve had to deal with him all day, plus if been stressed out of my mind trying to make sure neither of you noticed something was off! Now shut up, get in here, and help me make this fucking potion before Joshua wakes up!” He felt like his blood was boiling, all the rage and frustration from the day spilling out into his words. With a deep breath, he steadied himself. “You’ll get an explanation when this all blows over. Alright?”

“Fine. What do you need me to help with?”

“Just grab the labeled ingredients I need and bring them, it’ll speed things up a ton.”

With that, they worked efficiently, getting enough of his memory potion made for two doses in under two hours. From what he could tell, Joshua hadn’t moved an inch when they came back from the sitting room. Gabe held open his mouth and Alistar poured the potion in, forcing it down his throat. Then, they laid him on the couch and waited for him to wake up. It took an hour or so for him to wake up, but he did and they simply told him he was slipped and hit his head very hard. Gabe seemed almost concerned at Joshua’s joke about the stairs that had happened the first time they’d met, and all Alistar did was give Gabe a sheepish grin. 

It was nice, at least for a little, to have someone know his secrets. Alistar almost felt bad slipping the second dose into Gabe food. He’d never trust Alistar though, if he knew the full truth, so it’s what he had to do. He laid Gabe on his bed and worked tirelessly through the night, eventually reversing what had happened. Alistar never thought he’d be so happy to see his own dick. He happily woke boobless the next morning, the entire disaster of yesterday behind him.


	36. Morgan and Sylvia

He knew the moment he saw her that he had to do everything in his power to protect her. Morgan never knew why he felt so strongly about it when he first met Sylvia. Maybe it was because he was about her age when he had been ripped from his own home and thrust into slavery, or maybe it was just fate. All he knew at that moment was that he had learned to stay in line the hard way, the scars painting his back were proof enough of that, and maybe he could save someone else from that.

So, he took Sylvia under his wing. Taught her what she needed to know, like the bits of broken English he knew, to never talk back to the masters, and to always stay close to him. Nothing bad could happen if she stayed close to him, he’d make sure of it. He kept that promise to himself for many years, he kept Sylvia close, and kept her out of trouble. 

Sylvia was 12 or 13, and finally starting to grow into a young woman. Morgan was proud she was growing up, but terrified. He saw the looks the master’s son gave her, knew the stories women who worked in the house told, and knew trouble was on the horizon. So, he grabbed all the coin he could. Sylvia was small, and that made her cheap. If he could just do more odd jobs whenever he was in town, maybe convince the others to give up what they had, then they could buy Sylvia’s freedom before trouble arrived. 

If only things had worked out that way. Morgan would’ve lived the rest of his life in chains if it meant she was free. No, Instead one rainy day out in the fields, when Sylvia was dumping what she had picked into the basket, the master's son approached her. 

“Mother needs help with our clothes, so, I’m offering you a chance to get out of the mud precious. Come inside and help my mom fold for a bit.” He asked with a particular look in his eye Morgan didn’t find quite right. So, he walked up, dumped his cotton, and grabbed Sylvia away.

“There’s a stalk too high for me to grab, come get on my shoulders and pick it for me?” Morgan interjected, praying the son bought the excuse. Luckily, as he pulled Sylvia away towards the fields, he said nothing. Morgan could feel his glare burning into the back of his skull and cringed. He’d better stay at the far side away from the house for a while, or else. 

Later that night, she yelled at him. They were freezing, no dry wood to start a fire meant they weren’t drying off any time soon. They just had to wring out their rags, hang them up, and pray they didn’t catch a cold. She yelled at him, told him, “Why didn’t you let me go in there Morgan? I could’ve been warm and dry right now, folding clothes with the mistress!” It was the first time she had ever talked back to him. “It’s so cold, and miserable, and wet in here. Why do we have to be here...” She broke down, sitting on the cold floor, tears running down her face.

He sometimes wished she was still young, even though she was more of a handful back then, at least she was too young to really understand. Morgan grabbed Sylvia, holding her in his arms.

“You don’t hear the horror stories the women tell of in there sweetheart. If you go into the masters house you’re not going to be folding clothes, and you’ll wish you were here. Better cold and miserable then being beat to an inch of your life. So, stay close to me, I won’t let anything happen to you Sylvia. Not a single thing.” Morgan rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder. Hopefully he’d never see her cry again, but he doubted that was a luxury he would get.

Morgan picked crops at the far side of the fields away from the house, and kept Sylvia there with him. The only time they went near the house was to empty their baskets. It worked for only a month, until the far side had nothing left, and they were forced to move towards the house. Then, the same thing happened. She was dumping cotton, and the master’s son came up to her. This time there was no asking, no false idea of a choice. He just grabbed Sylvia’s arm and started tugging her towards the house. Sylvia, the smart girl she was, did exactly as Morgan told her to. Don’t fight the masters, he said, if only he’d known.

In that split moment, Morgan made a decision. Better that he was beat instead of her. So, he dropped his basket, ran to her, and shoved the son away. He tumbled into the dirt, and Sylvia stared, eyes wide with horror. 

“Morgan!” She grabbed his side looking up at his, before she whispered, “What do I do? What do I do Dad?” 

Ignoring his surge of pride, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “You don’t know me sweetheart, I’m just some weirdo who shoved him understand?”

Sylvia stared at him for a moment before nodding, and putting some distance between them. 

Slowly, the masters son stood slowly, shakily, before finally rising to his feet. Eyes filled with hatred stared up at him, the man’s fists clenched, ready to return a blow. Then, in a split second, he lunged, fist flying towards Morgan. It slammed into his jaw and he sucked in a breath. 

 

“Who do you think you are?” The man said, those blazing eyes cutting into Morgan. His hand swung out and slammed into his stomach.  
Morgan doubled over, the pain hitting him. “Answer me, you stupid bastard!” 

He stayed silent, and another hit came. Then another, and another, until eventually he was on the ground. The masters son kicked him, and kicked him, till he was huffing out breaths. Practically panting,he finally stepped away, and for good measure, spat on him.

Sylvia rushed over, and kneeled by Morgan shaking him. Until the master grabbed her arm and ripped her away from Morgan. She let out a yelp, and his eyes narrowed. He needed to get her out of this.

His arm shot out, grabbing the older mans leg and ripping it out from underneath him. The son fell, slamming into the dirt with a thump. Morgan stood, slowly but surely. He looked into those blazing eyes, and for once, he saw fear. It sent power through him, and Morgan finally understood his place here. He was strong, and tough, while this cruel man was nothing. If he so wanted, he could crush his rib cage underneath his foot. For the first time in many, many years, Morgan didn’t feel so helpless. 

The masters son however? He knew exactly the power Morgan had. The man was without a gun, without a whip, and nobody was there to back him up. Morgan could kill him if he wanted to. So he did what any smart man would do. Stood, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and left them with a promise. Come dawn tomorrow, he’d suffer for even daring to lay a hand on him. He knew what that meant, really. Come tomorrow, he’d be killed or sold and Sylvia would be all alone.


	37. If Gabe Succeeded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can we get an F in the comments?

It was supposed to be easy.

Supposed to.

He just had to sneak into the room while Alistar was working and hide in the closet. Then he’d wait until Alistar came back and went to bed. Once Alistar was fast asleep all that was left to do was creep up and stab him in the heart. Alistar would be dead, and Gabe’s fears would be put to rest. 

If only it had been so simple. As he walked up to the bed, with a knife in hand and ill intent in his heart, he started to think. He thought about sharing a bottle of wine with Alistar in a rickety boat on the river. The way Alistar had blushed and laughed whenever Gabe said a dumb joke, or how for the first time in what seemed like forever Gabe had butterflies in his stomach. If he did this he’d never have that again, he’d never see Alistar laugh like that again. His hands shook and he struggled with what to do. He told himself there was no other way. That he had to do this or else he’d end up just like Finn. It was him or Alistar. Gabe chanted those words in his mind, willing the guilt away, and sliced down. The blade sunk into Alistar’s chest, an inch or so from the mark.

Alistar screamed in pain, waking up and writhing around in his sheets. Terror shone in his eyes as he clutched his chest, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. Blood started to soak through his clothes and a hand covered in red confirmed Alistar’s suspicions. Dull green eyes darted around the dark room, scanning for his killer. They settled on Gabe and widened. The anger and pain that painted Alistar’s face slowly morphed into disbelief as he saw the knife Gabe held.

“Gabe?” His name was barely a squeak coming from Alistar’s mouth, and Gabe watched as tears welled in Alistar’s eyes. “Why?” Alistar stared up at him, terrified.

“Why?” He asked again, reaching forwards and grabbing Gabe’s collar. Alistar pulled him close, and looked him dead in the eyes, waiting for an answer. His hands trembled, and sobs wracked his body. When Gabe didn’t answer the hands fell from his collar, leaving streaks of red down his coat. Alistar sunk down onto the floor, curled up, and cried.

Gabe tried so hard to stay cold and emotionless. All he had to do was swing again and Alistar would be out. It was him or Gabe. But when he tried to move, his body wouldn’t cooperate. He was stuck staring at Alistar, shaking and sobbing on the floor, all because of him. It was almost unsettling seeing Alistar, a man so normally calm and composed, breaking down at his feet. Regret washed over him as he realized the scope of what he’d done. Alistar was going to die and it was because of him. Gabe had been so wrapped up in his terror he hadn’t even realized that doing this would kill the person he loved most. No, even worse. He had known exactly that, and still went through with it. The knife slipped from his hand, and he bent down, now face level with Alistar. He took the man in his arms, feeling blood starting to seep into his pants.

“I’m sorry...” he whispered, resting his forehead against Alistar’s, “I’m so, so sorry.” 

For a moment he thought maybe he could fix this, he could rush Alistar to a medic and save him. Sure, things would never be the same but at least he wouldn’t be dead. At least Gabe could try and fix it. But as Alistar coughed into his chest, blood staining the green, he knew what he’d done couldn’t be reversed. 

Alistar looked up at him, and asked once more, “Why?”

“I’m sorry… I was scared.” He mumbled out, the tears finally escaping his eyes and falling to the ground. “Things weren’t right… Bennie and Goopy and what happened there I just couldn’t take it. Then, finding out about Finn… I didn’t know what else I could do…I was terrified you’d kill me.” 

It was silent, the world still other then Alistar’s trembling hands as he processed what Gabe said. The silence was too much for him to take and he spoke again, “I’m sorry, I- I-“ He was cut off by Alistar reaching a bloody hand to his face, and he leaned into the touch. 

“It’s alright.” His voice was shaky and hoarse, as if speaking was a terrible effort, “It’s alright… I deserve this.”

Gabe’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, anything, but all he managed out was another apology. He just held Alistar’s closer and sobbed. Alistar’s skin was cold, and he could feel the man's heart pounding as he held him close. Gabe didn’t think he’d be awake much longer.

As if on cue, Alistar sluggishly sat up, and pressed a kiss to Gabe’s mouth. “Goodnight Gabe, I love you.” Alistar closed his eyes, pulling his hand slowly from Gabe’s face.

His breath hitched, and Gabe panicked, shaking Alistar a bit. “No, no no, stay awake please-“ He pulled the body closer as he begged, “Please, please just open your eyes Alistar. Just stay awake, open your eyes-“ The sobs cut him off, choking him as he tried to beg. 

Gabe kissed Alistar, then peppered his face with small pecks. He tasted his own tears as they fell onto the mans face. Ever so slowly, Alistar’s chest stopped rising, and all was still. Gabe brushed the hair from Alistar’s face, studying his features for a moment. Then, he picked the corpse up and laid it on the bed. 

Pressing one last kiss to Alistar’s cold lips, he mumbled out, “Goodnight Alistar… I love you too.”


End file.
